Nightingale and her friends are troubled by the High King’s failure to rule, which leaves the Church free to grow more hostile toward nonhuman peoples, Gypsies, and Free Bards. To discover why the King has withdrawn from his duties, Nightingale joins forces with T’fyrr, a birdman with a raptor’s face and a remarkable singing voice. Their investigation becomes a fight to protect Alanda’s outsiders and restore the King’s place.