When Rialla was young, slave traders from Darran ambushed her clan, killing all the men and enslaving the women and children. For years, Rialla lived in bondage, serving her master while waiting for a chance to escape. When that chance came, she made the best of it--and fled to the mercenary nation of Sianim...

Now she can strike back at her former masters. A lord in Darran seeks to outlaw slavery--but there are plots to kill him before he can. Rialla is chosen by the spymaster of Sianim to prevent the murder--and is plunged into a world of deadly magic, where gods walk in human form. Where her most trusted companions are not what they claim. And where Rialla could be enslaved again...