When Viscount Aubrey, cousin of Duke Morkney of Montfort, visits the island, Luthien's world is turned upside down.
Together, Luthien and Oliver cross the Dorsal Sea and go to the mainland, where they are saved from numerous cyclopians by an old wizard named Brind'Amour.
Inside the cave, they find a crimson cape that renders the wearer invisible and a folding bow, and are attacked by the dragon Balthazar.
He gives the Sword of Bedwyr - Blind Striker - to Luthien, now the Crimson Shadow and the leader of a ragtag insurgency in Montfort that has taken control of half the city.
This time he must rouse the peasants and fierce tribes of Eriador to fight the demonic wizard-king Greensparrow and his bloodthirsty warriors.
The Crimson Shadow will aid the young warrior, but even this unquenchable force of magic may falter against Greensparrow's ultimate weapon.