Gatherer Ehiru of ancient Gujaareh is no murderer. He escorts faithful followers of the Dreaming Goddess from the waking world to the sweet, infinite rest of their afterlives. But a royal monster and corrupt priests force him to face an overwhelming, all-consuming horror: he and his loving acolyte Nijiri are being used in a secret bid to breach divine peace and grant a greedy politician vampire-like powers. Can Ehiru ally himself with Sunandi, ambassadress of the enemy Kisua, and defeat the foul plan of his land’s rotten, centuries-old order?