Queen Calanthe, mortally wounded, commits suicide and her granddaughter, Cirilla, nicknamed Ciri, flees from the burning capital city.

Emhyr var Emreis, Emperor of Nilfgaard, sends his spies to find her, as, in addition to her royal lineage, Ciri has one quarter of elven blood, giving her immense magical potential.

Peace with Nilfgaard is not what it was supposed to be – the Empire's financial clout is ruining the northern economy, Imperial emissaries agitate aristocrats and merchants against their monarchs, elves and dwarves have formed partisan groups called Scoia'tael and are conducting acts of terror against humans – and cultists are prophesying that the world will end, unless the Savior comes from the South.

On the way, Triss falls ill, and they join Yarpen Zigrin's dwarven company, who is leading a caravan for King Henselt of Kaedwen.

Geralt tells Ciri about the roses of Aelirenn, an elf who died leading elven youths to fight the humans in a hopeless attack.

The caravan is attacked by the Scoia'tael, and it is revealed that the escort mission was a trap set by the kings who doubted Yarpen's loyalty.

With the positive reader reception to his The Witcher short stories, Andrzej Sapkowski decided to write a fantasy saga.

[7] For the saga, the author expanded on the story he had used for "A Question of Price" and "Sword of Destiny"; the universally known fairy tale in which a monster or sorcerer saves somebody's life and then demands payment.