With Doyce retired from her position as Seeker General, she and her husband Jenret are off on a well-earned vacation. After all, their twins, Jenneth and her brother Diccon, are in the midst of their own Seeker training and are responsible enough to be left on their own. Or are they? For when their elderly Aunt Mahafny commandeers the twins for a dangerous winter journey to the wilds of Marchmont in a desperate attempt to prolong the life of the rapidly failing ghatt Saam, they immediately give in rather than trying to prevent her from undertaking this mission which none of them may survive.

And then disaster strikes in the capital of Marchmont after the rediscovery of a long-hidden and deadly piece of technology. With everyone busy trying to stave off further destruction in the kingdom, no one is left to assist the twins in their attempts to protect Mahafny or to convince her to give up her mad quest.

Only time will tell what fates await the people of Marchmont, Mahafny and her group -- and the Erakwa natives who are torn between aiding Marchmont, rescuing the wayward Seekers and their Bonds, and restoring harmony to the planet itself.