Half a Rotation after the Great Storm, Jentaroth (the annual Rite of Passage), takes on new significance. Amidst mourning rituals, Ikella must protect the Union of the Sands from treachery within, whilst resisting her growing emotional attachment to the frail orphan she longs to adopt. Beset by premonitions as she gathers her Sisters in Sorcery at Selesh, Ikella is forced to defend the Gathering as one of three new Candidates reveals herself as a practising heretic, with command of Dark Magic. As she confines Adruna and her followers to her own sands, Ikella cannot prevent her cursing baby Daro, but did her curse have any effect?

As Daro grows up, how many Rotations must Ikella endure his relentless obsession with the ancient mages of the past? Is this something to do with "The Curse of Night"? As his obsession leads him into perilous places, can he survive to find "Another Shade of Mystery?"