For the past twenty years, the Veiled Ones have been trying to prevent a creature of pure darkness from escaping into their world. With their numbers dwindling, they are forced to travel north to the Seven Villages. Here, they find Lenye, and by taking her friend hostage, compel her to come with them.With their mother Naima incapacitated, the only one left to go after her is her twin brother Ben. But Ben is blind in daylight, and his only allies are a historian, a street girl, and his aging grandfather Brenor.But for every step that Ben comes closer to finding his sister, the creature comes closer to escaping.