At one time, Chenia was a great country. With various clans spread from north to south, a sacred brotherhood of riders known as the Shepherds roamed the land, protecting their people in the name of their god Ada.

But an unspoken horror in the Shepherd city of Sarbin fifteen years earlier has left the Chenians defenseless. As refugees, many have left their homeland while those who have stayed battle enemies both near and far.

Caught between the relative safety of a foreign nation and the atrocities back home is Nicolai, a young man whose own past remains a secret to him. A letter from a distant patriarch in Chenia thrusts him into an odyssey with four of his closest friends, refugees bound by hardship. Through ocean voyages, mountain treks and seedy cityscapes these men return home, only to find it on the verge of invasion from the world’s mightiest empire, Czaria.

In the face of a superior force, Nicolai’s memory churns. His once hidden past comes to light, offering a way to salvation for Nicolai and his people yet also threatening to destroy him. With no other option, Nicolai faces all his enemies, both internal and real, in one epic battle to decide the fate of his people. And himself.