Return to the realm of Tortall for the fourth part of a magical quartet. Kel is finally a knight. The first girl to make it in decades. She's dealt with the hazing and prejudice of her year-mates, and the terrifying Ordeal. Now she faces the real thing: Tortall is at war. The Scanran raiders have united to form an army and they're invading. Refugees are flooding away from the northern border, destitute and terrified, with stories of the fearsome metal creatures that the invaders have brought with them. Kel is posted to the border refugee camp, where the Scanrans and their monstrous weapons will be waiting for her.