After saving Lady Khashtris from an attack by Shadizar's thieves and traitorous servants, Conan agrees to work as her bodyguard in return for his soul being freed from the mirror it has been trapped in since his encounter with Hissar Zul.

Unknown to Conan, Ialamis, and Khashtris, the Queen's new paramour, Sergianus, is actually a disguised Sabaninus, the elderly Duke of Korveka, a Kothian province that wishes to annex Khauran.

Ialamis is also the mother of Salome and Taramis, who feature prominently in Howard's earlier tale, "A Witch Shall Be Born."

Critic Don D'Ammassa calls the novel "[r]ather slow moving.."[3] The story was adapted by Roy Thomas and Esteban Maroto in issues #217-218, cover-dated January–February 1994, of the Marvel Comics magazine series The Savage Sword of Conan.

The Thomas/Maroto tale was later reprinted in the 2016 Dark Horse Comics trade paperback The Savage Sword of Conan Volume 21.