When tragedy strikes--and the Emperor's elder daughter, Jamur Rika, is summoned to serve as queen, Inspector Rumex Jeryd focuses his immediate attention on the grisly murder of a councillor--and to an obscene conspiracy that threatens the lives of Rika, her sister, her dashing teacher, and the future of Villjamur itself. But in the far north, where the drawn-out winter has already begun, an even greater threat appears---a threat from another world.