The cataclysmic Long Night has ended, with humanity slowly recovering from the madness-inducing rule of Nightmares. Out of the ruin of the old empires rise two new powers—the Protectorate of Free Cities and the Dominance of Thrycea, ruled by a dynasty of hereditary weather mages known as Storm Lords. Between the two lies a buffer zone of provincial kingdoms, where the powerful nations fight out their differences. And in the shadows, defeated but not destroyed, the Nightmares lurk. In Rivern, the westernmost city in the Protectorate, three unlikely individuals stumble into a complicated plot of murder, magic, and politics. One is a Storm Lord, a young woman facing an arranged marriage. Another is a priest turned assassin, whose partner is an intelligent sword. And the third is a drunkard, a drunkard who just happens to be a magician—a magician who appears to have accidently achieved immortality. Three damaged, flawed individuals face a plot to wipe Rivern off the map. Alone they have little to recommend them. Together they might just be able to win out against the manipulative scheming of the Queen of Lies.