Caspar, Duke of Olasco, obedient in everything to the will of the evil magician Leso Varen, is defeated in a fierce battle by the secret agent of the Shadow Conclave Kogvin Yastrins. As punishment, the sorcerer Magnus transfers Kaspar to the distant continent of Novindus. Eager to return to the Kingdom of the Isles, the Duke reaches a port city and there joins merchants carrying a very strange cargo - the figure of a man dressed in black armor, who himself indicates where to take it. Any attempt at disobedience ends in the death of one of the merchants. Neither priests nor magicians are able to reveal the secret of the ominous figure. The only way to solve the riddle is to turn to the higher gods for help. But who will be lucky enough to get to them?