Amidst the massacre he helped bring about, Carnelian is now desperate to find a way to avoid more carnage. His spurned lover Osidian—seeking revenge and determined to win back his stolen throne—has deliberately stoked the wrath of the Masters who rule the world from its center, Osrakum. Osidian's actions threaten to overturn the repressive order of the Commonwealth, and Carnelian soon learns that he and those he loves are inextricably enmeshed in the terrible power game of the Masters. If he is to survive, he has no choice but to stand with Osidian in defiance of the invincible power of the Masters. In his struggle, Carnelian will unleash apocalyptic forces that will bring his world to a reckoning none could have foreseen, though it has been simmering for 4,000 years.