In a desert world ruled by men, Rifkind has always been one apart. A chieftain's daughter, she learned to wield a sword while all other women were bound by tribal custom to children and the cooking fire. But when her clan was massacred, she set forth on a quest for her destiny in savage lands ruled by magic and the sword. For a while, she thought that she had found a home. She practiced the healing arts and raised a son. But now she has once again heard a personal call to arms, a call to leave the safety of her home. She will once again take up the way of the sword, the way of sorcery. And this time she is not alone.