The warlike kingdom of Letheria, expanding its borders, captured almost the entire continent, one of six on the planet, fencing itself off from the Malazan Empire and the rest of the world with a blank wall and preserving the customs and magical rituals of antiquity. Only the Tiste Edur, a once great but now declining alliance of tribes, remain unconquered on the continent. Hannan Mosag, the sorcerer king, ruler of the Tiste Edur tribal commonwealth, wanting to revive the former glory of the people, enters into an agreement with the Crippled God in order to get his hands on a sword, the owner of which becomes invincible. But the sword falls into the hands of the ambitious Rulad Sengar, a simple warrior, and he, declaring himself emperor, challenges the Letherian kingdom. Meanwhile, the day is approaching when the ancient prophecy about the revival of the First Empire is to be fulfilled. But is this possible? After all, the First Empire was destroyed many millennia ago and, moreover, on another continent...