Davin Anane and the giant Goran One-Eye were adventurers and freebooters--until Goran killed two men in a gambling parlor. Now, Davin stands captive before Velden, the rat-like emperor of Bistonia's thieves, while Goran is cruelly tortured in a nearby chamber. Velden will free Goran if Davin returns Velden's kidnapped niece, Lijena, to Bistonia. Davin thinks the mission will only be a short adventure. Instead, it is the beginning of an odyssey peopled with sorcerers, slave traders, gypsy caravans and the most dreaded demons of all, the Faceless Ones.