The Tear of the Gods is the greatest shrine of the Kingdom of Midkemia. The magic stone is created by monks in a secret monastery hidden high in the mountains called the Gray Towers, and every ten years they replace the sacred artifact with a new one so that its power never runs out. The dark magician Sidi, who strives for unlimited power over the whole world, also dreams of possessing the Tear. The pirates he hired capture and sink the ship on which the gem was transported to Krondor, and now the Tear of the Gods rests at the bottom of the sea. Squire James, the Keshian mage student Jazara and the son of the great sorcerer Paga William must get ahead of the messengers of the dark forces and deliver the shrine to Midkemia, and otherwise the kingdom will be left without protection and its inhabitants will face endless chaos.