After spending the majority of his twenty-six years in the solitude of Highwood forest, Seth has become haunted by visions of his father, driving him to seek solace from his childhood friend, Michael Herder. Their rekindled comradery leads the two young men to search for answers and adventure in the lands east of The Wall. The journey inadvertently reawakens a centuries-old war that has divided the once immortal race of Watchers, as mankind's strongholds brace for the resulting onslaught of Inferiors, foes they thought were long-extinct.

Seth and Michael, the Seven Stewards, King Acar, and a secret sect known only as the Rion Guard are brought to the brink of destruction as evil and sorcery, sacrifice and love clash against the richly exotic setting of the world of Erathe.