In the Ibar Mountains the necromancer Eremius is raising a demon-spawned army, using in of the fabled Jewels of Kurag. Snared in the court intrigues of Aghrapur, trapped by Lord Misrak, the King's deadly master of spies, Conan of Cimmeria must ride to comfort Ermius, accompanies against his will by the sorceress Illyanan. But Illyana herself carries the second Jewel, and whoever possesses both will gain power to challenge the gods. Plots and treachery loom at Conan's back, but those who seek to catch him in their web do not know that they face Conan of Cimmeria, Conan the Valiant.