For most Keepers, slaying harbingers is a choice. For Liadain, it's a dark necessity. Liadain's power over sickness and corruption has alienated her even from her fellow Keepers. Alone in her new life, she races on legs that have barely ever walked to master her abilities, understand the twisted minds and bizarre magic of Harbingers, and rip the keys to her immortality from their remains while she still can. Her explorations take her down dark and strange paths through the wilderness beyond New Claris, where the world melts away and Harbingers vie to reshape reality in their image. Delving deeper into magic drives Liadain ever further from humanity. She spares a newborn Harbinger's life, planning to watch it grow, learn all she can of her enemies, and harvest its heart when the time is right. But it has its own plans and its own dreams, as deep and desperate as hers. Liadain must decide how far she's really willing to go to pursue immortality.