In the struggle for power in the Videss Empire, Emperor Turizin suppressed a rebellion, but his mercenary troops suddenly betrayed him, and the country is torn apart by a new war. The legion of Mark Scaurus enters the battle with the traitors. New losses and new, sometimes unexpected gains await the heroes of the tetralogy: the Greek Gorgida and the Celt Viridovix, setting off for the steppes. The sinister magic of Avshar again stands in their way, and only the twin swords, enchanted by the Gaul druids, belonging to Scaurus and Viridovix, can resist the spell of the monstrous sorcerer prince. But the decisive battle is ahead.