Having completed the journey he was sent upon when he was exiled from the Citadel, Severian takes up his position as the Lictor (or Master of Chains) of the city of Thrax.

His lover Dorcas falls into depression, in part because of her position as the partner of a reviled and feared figure in a strange city.

He and Dorcas separate, and he journeys alone into the mountains in search of the Pelerines, whom he believes to be the rightful keepers of the priceless relic which he carries, the Claw of the Conciliator.

On the road, he battles his enemy Agia, and the Alzabo—a beast which acquires the memories of those it consumes, as well as a gang of men who have opted to become as animals.

Escaping amidst the threat that yet another dangerous creature has been set upon his trail, Severian discovers a monarch from the past, Typhon, in an ancient city.