For three hundred years, the men of The Fifty have sworn to sacrifice themselves to defend the border of Calthus from their enemies. Hawthe, the high-ranking military officer of The Fifty, is patrolling when he finds a strange, small animal in a smuggler's wagon. It is injured, with cruel clamps piercing its shoulders so it can't fly. He helps the animal and brings it back to Anwen Citadel, where his men adopt the creature. The animal lives with them for a year, becoming a part of the lives of the soldiers who live in the Citadel. One day, an eagle attacks the animal. When Hawthe catches up with the eagle and the creature, he finds a beautiful woman unconscious on the ground. He brings her back to the citadel, where he interrogates her, and soon gives in to his desires. She says her name is Argen. But there is a spy in The Fifty who wants them all dead, and Hawthe isn't sure what Argen wants at Anwen Citadel-or with him.