This is the third book in his open-ended fantasy series and a continuation of his first two books, Vorclaw and Sojourns in Vana. Leif Foehammer, the adopted elf, begins to understand General Blackpool's rise to power, but his answers may lie with his former vampire lover, the arch-goblin ruler, Queen Ooktha! Leif's brother Bjorn seeks solitude, struggling to come to terms with Leif's connection to the vampiress, the very creature that killed their mother! Meanwhile, Dru Foehammer rises in status, becoming the Commander of the Sedgedunum City Watch, while his mentor, the assassin Damon Crag, begins building his own empire as the Shadow Company overlord of Sedgedunum. Betrayal, attacks in the frontier, and new characters shed doubt on General Blackpool's legitimacy as ruler of Vorclaw. To help unravel it all, Leif may have to travel back into the mountain range known as The Spine of Vana!