Taking the leader of the White Cloak cult prisoner, Wielder Kara Tremain and Allan Garrett have seized control of the Needle--their stronghold and the source of the new Nexus that is the hub of magical power for the city of Tumbor. Allan journeys back to their home city, hoping to form alliances with survivors of the disaster there, only to discover that Erenthrall itself has sunk into the ground and the vicious groups left there have banded together in an even more hostile faction. When they attack the Temerite enclave, Allan and the Temerites are forced to flee to the Needle. But the Needle is no safe haven--the White Cloaks have begun fomenting unrest, all of it targeted at Kara and the Wielders.