At the end of “Sword of Flame,” the evil Mage Eliseth disappears through a rift in time with Aurian’s lover, Anvar, and the captured Harp of Winds. Accompanied only by a handful of companions, Aurian follows—only to find herself thrown ten years into the future by the unpredictable rift. And the world in which she finds herself is one which has been dominated by the evil Eliseth for all the years of her absence, and is therefore corrupt and almost unrecognizable. Anvar’s body is now in Eliseth’s control while his soul has been imprisoned in a crystal prison—and without the help of his mastery over the Harp of Winds, Aurian finds her powers severely diminished. Moreover, the Sword of Flame, which she has gained at the end of the eponymously-named book, is still not under her control, for she cannot bear to make the sacrifice that will bind it to her: spilling the life-blood of a loved one with its virgin steel. And somehow, she and her companions must overcome these monstrous odds to reunite Anvar’s spirit with his body, win the Sword, and defeat the evil Mages at last.