The book brings Champions back from various cultures with the Tiste Edur fleet to challenge Rhulad Sengar, emperor of Letheras.

Among them are Icarium with Taralack Veed, Karsa Orlong with Samar Dev, a Seguleh girl found unconscious near MoI, and a monk from Cabal.

There he flips the Crippled God's tent, slays Rhulad, slaps Withal and enters a portal aimed vaguely at his home after refusing to take the sword for himself (which was apparently the Crippled God's plan ever since Karsa left Laederon).

Toc the Younger sacrifices himself to save a dozen or so Awl children, witnessed by Tool.

Sukul gets away, but is then killed by the three T'lan Imass who had wanted to usurp Ulshun Pral, but chose to sacrifice themselves to help their clan escape.

The rest are wounded except Silchas who takes the Finnest, but then mostly stops for fear of Kilava Onass.

Fiddler's group make it to the coliseum, where Trull has found his dead brother and is promptly stabbed and killed by Sirryn Kanar.

Icarium tries to replicate K'rul's forging of the warrens by slitting his wrists and walking into one of his magic constructions.

It is broken and explodes outwards in a big white wave which kills people directly and indirectly (i.e. by debris).

Publishers Weekly stated that "the plethora of characters, attacks and counterattacks, hidden schemes and battling gods will mostly appeal to serious fans of brutal and complex epics," and calls the book "bloody and dour.