In the great Free City of Yewnyr, the Blackheath Refuge is home to the victims of the most powerful magic in the Elder Kingdoms - those wounded in body and mind by dark mana, ancient curses, and the hunger of the undead. When an invisible killer is unleashed within the refuge, the brash investigator Elathien Solo must contend with indifferent authorities, a spurned lover, and a young convalescent's terrible secret as she searches for the truth. And even as a dark conspiracy of murder and madness unfolds around her, Elathien is forced to cope with the still-raw scars of the time she herself...