Who dares look into her eyes? The Shamer is feared and resented for her power to unmask the soul's darkest secrets and crimes. Dina has inherited this gift from her mother, but to her it feels more like a curse. Dina's mother has just begun to teach her how to use her power when she is called away by the Court of the Ravens, to aid in the detection of the murderer of four members of the royal family. Dina's mother does not return. Instead, Dina is fetched by a stranger, Drakan; finding him able to look into her eyes calmly and innocently, she goes with him. But, arriving at the House of the Ravens, she finds her mother captive, and she herself no more than a pawn in a terrifying game of blackmail. Terrified, Dina escapes. But she is pitted against an implacable enemy: Drakan and his army of dragons...