Inquisitor Glokta receives an impossible assignment: to take the place of the missing mentor in the besieged city of Dagosca, and to prevent it from falling to the Gurks. The First Magus Bayaz, together with the famed warrior Logen Ninefingers, the nobleman Jezal dan Lufar, and the Southerner Ferro set off on a very dangerous journey to the edge of the world. A path full of hardships and unpleasant surprises—yet… for what purpose?
In Ingland, the war between the Union and the self-proclaimed King of the North, Betod, continues. Everything foretells victory for the Union, because at the head of the trained army stands an experienced marshal. But the enemy is cunning—and who knows what he has managed to prepare…
Where will the pendulum of fate swing? With whom will luck play a cruel joke, and to whom will it unexpectedly show favor? The fate of the Union turns out to be in the hands of people who absolutely don’t deserve it.
Narration for 2022 in a corrected translation.