Atlanta's Shieldheart discovers an awful truth with the potential to undo the mistake that broke his Shield. While the others struggle to protect mankind from Sidhe onslaught, Vitae delves down a dark road. If he can master faerie magic, he could become Creation's greatest shield and possibly even reclaim Mare from oblivion.
Quayla's self-destructive attempts to rejoin her brothers cost her dearly. Sidhe use her friends as pawns in a power struggle born out of Quayla's past. A lost Sidhe Court emerges behind new villainy. Leveraging all the shields hold dear, the new foe manipulates Atlanta's phoenixes into becoming the ultimate Sidhe weapon.
Embroiled in a three-sided war, the shields uncover the plot behind the chaos, but at a terrible price. Only Quayla and Vitae remain free to protect Atlanta. But locked in bloody conflict with each other, can either save the city, the Shield, or themselves?