The impossible has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler - the man who claimed to be god incarnate and brutally ruled the world for a thousand years has been vanquished. But Kelsier, the hero who masterminded that triumph, is dead, too. The awesome task of building a new world has been left to his young protegee, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and to Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her. The Lord Ruler's empire has broken into its component parts. In the former imperial capital of Luthadel, Elend is the new king of the Central Dominance, ruling with the help of an elected assembly he insisted on, a body with the power to depose him. The new kings of the other Dominances - most notably, Elend's ruthless father, Straff Venture -aren't waiting on that chance, and assassination attempts are frequent.<BR>Vin is wearing herself out trying to protect Elend. Stopping assassins does keep her Mistborn skills sharp, but it is not her only problem. As Kelsier's heir and slayer of the Lord Ruler, Yin is venerated by a rapidly growing new religion, a distinction that makes her intensely uncomfortable. Even more disturbing, the mists have begun behaving ominously since the Lord Ruler died and harbor a strange vaporous entity that seems to be haunting her.<BR>Three armies - one composed of ferocious giants - are approaching to vie for Luthadel's conquest. The city's half-trained forces are insufficient to man lengthy walls never intended to foil a real attack. As the siege of Luthadel tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or exactly what manner of power it bestows.<BR>All of these troubles whisper a single, chilling fact. Killing the Lord Ruler was the easy part. Surviving the aftermath of his fall is going to be the real challenge.