The Hand of Chaos is a fantasy novel by American writers Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the fifth of seven books in The Death Gate Cycle series.

Samah has opened Death's Gate, allowing the dangerous dragon-snakes unfettered access to all four worlds.

Haplo contemplates returning to the Labyrinth, the prison world of his people, the Patryn, but is intercepted by Zifnab, a Sartan.

Haplo, Bane, and Jarre are separated from Limbeck and captured by red-eyed elves led by Sang-drax.

Limbeck finds a room where members of all races sit peacefully together, but have frightening red eyes.

The Keepers give Haplo a book written in every language, which will help him reactivate the Kicksey-winsey, and send him back to the surface.

Limbeck is wrongly advised that Jarre is dead, and leads his rebel dwarves to massacre the elves in vengeance.

The snake-dragons begin to attack the Kicksey-winsey, causing the elves and dwarves to band together to stop them.

Sang-drax's dragonship arrives and the human mutineers join the elves and dwarves against the dragon-snakes.