[1] It is the third book in the An Ember in the Ashes series, preceded by A Torch Against the Night and followed by A Sky Beyond the Storm.

[2][3] The story follows Laia, a scholar girl, on a mission to defeat the night bringer; Elias, the current soul catcher, tries to learn the ways of soul catcher and Helene, the blood shrike; tries to defeat the enemies of the empire.

Laia has now realized that if she wants to save her people, the Scholars, she must defeat the Nightbringer, a vengeful Jinn set on destroying them.

In the forest called The Waiting Place, Elias has been condemned to a life of passing ghosts to the next world.

Meanwhile, in the capital city of Antium, Helene Aquilla, the Blood Shrike, is hoping she can keep her younger sister Livia safe from the predations of her new husband, Emperor Marcus.

Point of view characters in this book include, Laia of Serra, Elias Veturius, Helene Aquilla and the Nightbringer.