The Tavern has survived both Robert de Beaumont and the Sheffield Eight, but has it been fatally damaged? Rachels' Shunning still causes unrest, while many are shocked by the deaths of Taverners and allies, and the number of badly injured. Meanwhile Jenny steps into her role as the new Mistress of de Beaumont, an old, traditional demesne with scores of apprentices.　Underneath the grief and confusion, Isabella's poison is spreading. The Taverneers are wrapped up in their own reactions to the deaths, their new bodyguards, and projects. Abel and Kelis are both trying to keep the secret, even from each other, but something magical is drawing them together.Abel discovers that another myth is real, Kelis discovers more about the origins of magic than she ever expects, and Jenny finds herself refereeing a four-hundred-year-old rivalry.A race against death leaves Kelis with a new distraction, though not as dangerous as Jenny's Pack. With the parties at Christmas and New Year as further distractions, none of the Taverneers realise how far the rot has spread, but some Adepts are working overtime to catch Isabella in the act.As rumour and fact merge and splinter, Abel is left trying rescue all he, and the Taverneers, hold dear from the resultant chaos.