Oressa Madalin, princess of Carastind, whose secret avocation involves getting into places she isn't allowed, overhears horrifying news while eavesropping on her father's conversation with his closest advisers. Oressa is determined to save Carastind, even if it means defying her father. Her brother, Gulien, is her ally, but to succeed, they must win the aid of the enigmatic kieba, And no one intrudes on the Kieba or her unfathomable mountain. But the invaders want more than conquest. They want control of the Kieba and her terrifying magic. They don't understand that defeating the Kieba may also destroy the world. In a world beset by the shattered power of a thousand dead gods, one woman holds the key to ancient technology. But she is more vulnerable than she seems. And neither Oressa nor Gulien can see a way to save both the Kieba and their own country, and the world...