Only a fool crosses a god, but Ellaeva and Lyram will do anything to get what they want.

Chosen as a five-year-old orphan to be the Left Hand of Death, Ellaeva has nothing to call her own - nothing except a desire to avenge her murdered parents. Her duties leave her no time to pursue the man responsible, until both her work, and revenge lead to the same place - the lonely castle where Lyram Aharris is serving out his exile for striking his prince.

Lyram is the son of a duke and third in line for the throne. Hell bent on drowning his grief for his murdered wife in a whiskey bottle, Lyram is ill-equipped to deal with the arrival of a mysterious army. When the castle comes under siege, he believes his prince is behind it, only to have his fears dismissed as the paranoia of a grief-stricken drunkard by those closest to him. He dare not even voice aloud his suspicions of the prince’s involvement in his wife’s murder.

Ellaeva’s arrival brings hope, until she reveals she has not come for the siege, but instead she hunts the castle for a hidden necromancer dedicated to the dark god of decay - a necromancer with a personal interest in using Lyram for his own nefarious purposes.

As the siege lengthens, and with the identity of the necromancer unknown, Lyram finds his faith in those closest to him undermined by treachery and sabotage. Not knowing who he can trust, he turns to the one person whose honesty is unimpeachable - the Left Hand of Death herself.

Caught up in their pursuit of vengeance, and desperately trying to save themselves from both political machinations and clashing gods, Ellaeva and Lyram must fight to save themselves from political machinations and clashing gods. But as the siege lengthens, the greatest threat comes from an unexpected quarter.