Regaining his sanity, Rhulad seizes control over the Edur, expels the Letherii delegation, and begins preparing for war.

Tehol Beddict evacuates non-citizens from Lether, outmanoeuvres Gerun Eberict, and consistently outwits his partners.

Meanwhile, his brother Brys Beddict strives to maintain order in the city and forms an alliance with an ancient god.

The Azath House is dying and entrusts an undead child named Kettle with feeding it blood to sustain its life.

Brys incapacitates Rhulad without killing him, but the other Edur cannot bring themselves to end their emperor's life, leaving him lying on the ground, screaming in agony.

Reviewers have praised Erikson's world-building and character development, describing the series as the most significant work of epic fantasy since Stephen R. Donaldson's The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.

[4] Publishers Weekly remarked, ".. readers with a taste for massive high fantasy epics will welcome Erikson's fifth entry in his Malazan Book of the Fallen saga, though it largely deals with the calm between storms.