n?How, if you have never seen him, never heard him described, did not know where he lived? How, if he wished not to be found?And how, especially, if he were the most powerful wizard in the world?The steerswoman Rowan has discovered that the fall of the Guidestar and the massacre of Outskirter tribes were caused by one man: the secret master-wizard, Slado. His magic will soon threaten not only the wild and distant Outskirts, but even the Inner Lands themselves. The wizard must be stopped. But first, somehow, he must be found.In the seaside town of Alemeth, the Steerswomen's Annex holds centuries of records. There, Rowan might find clues to the wizard's location. And happily, she also finds a lost friend: Janus, a steersman who had resigned his membership in the Steerswomen, giving no explanation. Now Rowan has hope for help in her search - But Janus has changed. The bright intellect is now shrouded in a dark, shattered spirit...When sleepy Alemeth becomes a place of terror; when death and chaos move in from the wildlands; when doubt and lies surround the steerswoman at every turn - then all Rowan's questions are reduced to one, the single question that drives every member of the Steerswomen: Why? "An original and fascinating take on the tensions between science and belief, observation and expectation, courage and fear. Highly recommended." - Suzy McKee Charnas, author of Motherlines and Walk to the End of the World "Kirstein's striking portrait of an innovative woman who is scientist, judge, historian, and adventurer makes for a good, thought-provoking read." - Publisher's Weekly"If you like science, and if you like watching someone work out mysteries, and if you like detailed weird alien worlds and human cultures, if really good prose appeals... you're really in luck." - Jo Walton, Hugo and Nebula Awards winner, author of Among Others and The Just City"[Kirstein] walks the tightrope between fantasy and science fiction with precision and grace..." - Damien Broderick & Paul Di Filippo, in Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010