After a disastrous battle outside of the walled city of Dejagore, the Black Company finds Croaker, their leader, apparently dead and their ranks splinted. And, as various factions struggle to reform the company, the Shadowmasters, despite their own losses, seem to be gaining ground in their struggle to conquer the land--at least until Lady, Croaker`s lieutenant, begins to mass her own forces with the help of a seriously dangerous underground religious cult called the Deceivers. What with everyone having a secret agenda, nothing being as it seems, and as the annual floods rapidly approach, life on the ravaged battlefields becomes more and more treacherous--just the way the Black Company likes it.
