The four companions and their friends have reached Orosturbe, but how can they achieve their mission (to rescue Lally and Derri) when they're either prisoners or slaves?

"Great world-building, clean and tight prose, and I really loved the sexual culture of the kaerlings." Chris S

Otta's memories are still submerged and she cannot remember who she is, or why she is present in the kaerling city.

Otta looks like a kaerling woman and is under kaerling protection in the House of the Half Bloods. But increasingly she feels under threat, from both male and female kaerlings, until she is forced to make a difficult choice.

Meanwhile, Otta's companions find themselves prisoners. Tari is held in a iron cage in a mountain cleft. Rue is working for the Slave Medic and the four men (Lored, Erl, Stio and Ashlar) are recovering from a desperate fight in Irak Tam, where they have, against all odds, defeated the kaerling Champion.

If Otta and her companions are to find and rescue Lally and Derri, they must first free themselves and find a way out of Orosturbe.

If you enjoy books by JRR Tolkien, Tad Williams and Ursula Le Guin, you will feel right at home here, in Orosturbe!

Warning: contains scenes, language and concepts that some readers may find upsetting.