Four years have passed since Karren became the resident enchantress in a provincial town, but nothing in the principality of Epfelefredd has changed since then.
Metropolitan magicians still weave their intrigues—and woe to whoever once attracted their attention: they forget nothing, and every one of their words has a double bottom.
It seems that four years of waiting for the most diverse—and vile—disasters would be enough to think through an escape plan. But destiny has far more unpleasant surprises in store than a card sharp has for his deck of marked cards—and outplaying it won’t be easy even for the one who is used to believing in not a single magical word.