He ends up sharing a cell with Seregil, a seemingly youthful spy and noble from the exotic city of Rhiminee, who has the ability to assume various guises and trick his way out of tight situations.

Their hunt eventually leads them to Lady Kassarie, a supporter of the "Lerans," a group of anti-Aurenfaie nobles who object to Idrilain's queenship (she is a distant descendant of Lord Corruth, an Aurenfaie consort).

Their discovery of Lord Corruth's decomposed skeleton, which Kassarie has set up for display like a trophy, reveals that the Lerans were behind the consort's disappearance, which had so strained the relations between Skala and Aurenen.

Kassarie is killed and Idrilain's place on the throne is preserved, but the novel ends with Nysander experiencing a vision of death and the Empty God, foreboding more dark times to come.

[2] Locus Magazine places Luck in the Shadows in the "fantasy of manners" subcategory, noting that the novel focuses on a few individual characters, and contains action that is more swashbuckling than epic.

[3] The book also explores issues of sexuality and gender roles, presenting a world where bi- and homosexuality are as normal as heterosexuality, and hinting at the romantic relationship that will develop between the two male leads later in the series.