A year has passed since the Master Sorcerer’s murder. Lorcan Aurum returns to Ironstone to make a life for himself there, while Catherine Salt is forced to join a troupe of traveling harlots and sell her body to survive. The merchants guild and the Inquisitor’s determined effort to destroy the Unnaturals bring about a shift in the political balance of the Duitiscish Kingdoms. Both Lorcan and Catherine find themselves faced with few and difficult choices. Though worlds apart, the connection they share is The Fair, but Lorcan is bound by an old promise to protect the Master Sorcerer’s legacy, whereas Catherine is driven by ambitions that might cause more damage to the Unnaturals than the Church ever could.