Escaping via an underground river, he ends up in a wild region, where he is badly injured in his fight with a bear.

However, his idyllic life is disrupted when Brythunian soldiers, under orders to locate a magic jewel in possession of the tribe, attack and destroy their village.

The other narrative is the life-story of a sorceress named Tamsin, who, as a child, watched in horror as her mother is raped and killed by mercenaries in the service of Typhas, the king of Brythunia.

Tamsin challenges the kingdom's main cult, in time establishing Ninga's in its place, murders King Typhas, and becomes queen of Brythunia herself.

[2] Don D'Ammassa, also observing that "Conan is only present in about half of this novel," notes that while there are "[s]ome goods [sic] parts sprinkled through, ... this [book] doesn't hold together very well.