Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior's discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds. Here he encounters a damaged people who are not what they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess.

In this barren and mysterious place, he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood ... and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.