A plot born of evil, too cunning to be fathomed, too deadly to be known . . .

Not since Dune has there been an epic on the scale of Kushiel's Dart -- a tale about the violent death of an old age and the birth of a new. It is a novel of grandeur, luxury, sacrifice, betrayal, and deeply laid conspiracies. A world of cunning poets, deadly courtiers, deposed rulers, and a besieged Queen, a warrior-priest, the Prince of Travellers, barbarian warlords, heroic traitors, and a truly Machiavellian villainess. . . all seen through the unflinching eyes of an unforgettable heroine.

Sold into indentured servitude in the sumptuous and exotic Night Court as a child, Phedre no Delaunay is a woman who struggles for honor and duty, whose loyalty to the land she loves will take her to the edge of despair -- and then beyond.