Shaeli has been left in Palveron, apprenticed to master thrower, Flin, when her family flies to cave for the Wintering. She performs skylights at the Autumn's Eve Hunt and on the Starisles, growing more and more confident, yet Queen Virrisian's guard cover the Land like a stain, and the lives of the people grow darker as the brutality increases.
Shaeli travels again to the Starisles to perform, yet when the darkness targets her, almost robbing her of her mind and her life, she must flee. As companions gather to protect her, she faces a long and harrowing journey to Cave, but first she must seek a priceless object.
The journey is fraught with dangers; Shaeli and her companions are pursued across two Lands by the queen's guard and the mysterious black ship. Her magic is tested time and again as they travel acrosss Zirrus to the safety of the Fleet. But is Cave really the sanctuary she imagines?