After the brazen attack on Fairimor Palace by the Hand of the Dark, the allied nations of the Nine Lands begin preparations for a prolonged war against the refleshed dreadlord Throy Shadan. Even now, his army is poised to enter Kelsa with enough shadowspawn to ravage the entire nation.

But word has come from the south of the discovery of a lost Temple of Elderon which contains a Blood Orb of Elsa -- a talisman powerful enough to heal a dying world. With his friends at his side, Jase Fairimor undertakes a dangerous and desperate journey to retrieve the Talisman before it can fall into the hands of the enemy.

In Trian, Elison Brey continues his war against the Con'Kumen, dtermined to eradicate their dark brotherhood from the ancient city, while the traitor Zeniff plots Elison's assassination and the overthrowing of the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Croneam Eries enlists the help of the Gifted who have been drawn out of hiding by the crowning of Fairimor Dome with Fire. Led by a handful of Dymas who survived the Battle of Greendom, these noble warriors move eastward to engage Shadan's armies in an attempt to hold them back long enought for the Fairimors to fulfill their mission.

But there is danger even in success, for Jase's earlier misuses of the Power have him nearing the realm of the Ala'Con. Jase Fairimor, powerful and chosen, is now the Earthsoul's greatest hope -- and its greatest threat.