The second son of a second son, Nevare Burvelle was destined from birth to carry a sword, until a military assignment to the frontier post of Old Thares changed everything. There the wealthy young cadet came into contact with the Specks, a quiet, forest-dwelling folk gifted with magic and cursed with a terrible plague—both to which he succumbed.

Now nearly healed, Nevare has returned home, determined to bury the past. But his happy reunion turns dark when plague infects the Burvelles, setting off a chain of events that will lead Nevare into a strange and mysterious realm where danger, betrayal, and the beguiling Specks await.