Twelve years afte the events in Frank Herbert's Dune, Maud'Dib--Arrakis emperor Paul Atreides--has become the unintended figurehead of a violent dictatorship, and his enemies are multiplying. Vanishing into the desert, he waits as destiny shapes his twin heirs Leto II and Ghanima, who must contend with their scheming aunt Alia while Princess Wensicia, of the enemy House Corrino, plots her own attack on Maud'Dib's familial empire. Exiled Atreides matriarch Lady Jessica returns to Arrakis, where the enormous, desert-dwelling sandworms face an uncertain future.