Ex-assassin Semra may have broken free of the mountain where the dragonlord indoctrinated her as a child, but she can't shake his voice in her head - or the suspicious sideways glances following her every step.

The people closest to her seem distant, and the royal family's grief serves as a daily reminder of Semra's failures. With rogue assassins on the run and a dragon far too large for a castle, Semra is desperate to get away. When the princess is kidnapped, Semra accepts the mission to save her - a final penance to the royal family before disappearing for good.

The neighboring king's rage and paranoia grow as the two kingdoms mobilize for war. Tasked with working alongside the prince, Semra tries desperately to prove her own innocence to the court, even as her blood-stained history condemns her.