In pain, in fear, in longing and surprise?with every death Rhia hears the cries of the departed. This 'gift' from the ancient and mysterious Crow gives Rhia an intimate connection to death. One she's fought to repress as she tries to create a normal life.<P>But those chosen by the spirits can never be normal. Rhia has glimpsed the future of her newborn son?a child who is stolen from her. And if she must deaden her heart to the living and wander the world of the departed to retrieve him, then so be it.<P>For her family and her people, Rhia would sacrifice anything. And Crow knows it?.