This is the ninth of the novels in the epic saga of J. Norman about the mysterious planet Horus - a twin of the Earth.

Having returned from wanderings through the northern forests, the fearless Tarl Cabot is forced to learn from his own experience what the life of a cripple is like: During the battle with the Tyros warriors, the wounds do not heal. It turns out that the sword of the insidious enemy was saturated with poison, and a bleak existence awaits the brave Bosk in the future. But a new terrible threat has arisen. Disregarding pain and danger, the captain sets off to the distant northern Torvaldsland in search of his sworn enemy - the demonic curia, who devoured alive the beautiful Telima, whom Terl passionately loved...