A brutal kidnapping. A father's unyielding wrath. A desperate race against a dark and ancient ritual. On the windswept heights of Watchers Hill, Gabriel Cullen and Magda Talheart stand guard over the palisaded settlement of Hallam's Rest. But when a foul, rotting stench on the breeze heralds a brutal troll ambush, their world is ripped apart in a flash of black steel. Cullen is left battered and bleeding in the dirt, while Magda-fierce, unyielding, and deadly with a blade-is bound and dragged westward by a trio of monstrous captors. Driven by guilt and an uncanny ability to smell troll scent from leagues away, Cullen joins Magda's formidable father, Amon, on a ruthless pursuit across the vast grasslands. Together, they follow a trail marked by fresh graves and horrific dismemberments. Ahead of them lies Khurf, a savage troll chieftain who calls himself a "Son of the Wind." Khurf seeks to perform the mok-guran-a gruesome ritual sacrifice on the border of the sterile Dead Plains that will carve the Second Sign of Offering into Magda's flesh, appeasing ancient gods and launching a tide of troll conquest across human lands. With time running out and the shadow of death looming, Cullen must master his tracking instincts and fight through broken bones and searing agony. Alongside Amon's unrelenting vengeance, he will face monstrous beasts that feast on human flesh. In a brutal clash where survival demands ultimate sacrifice, Cullen and Amon must strike down the darkness before Magda's blood seals the fate of all human realms.
