The chimneys of the industry rise above Antua and the world buzzes with new opportunities. But old evils are still deeply rooted.

On the bloodstained borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock fights to earn glory on the battlefield, against the invaders of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the Crown. But the son of King Jezal, the reluctant Prince Orso, is a man skilled in disappointments.

Savine dan Glokta - a cosmopolitan lady, investor, and daughter of the man that the entire Union fears - plans to climb to the top of society's trash at all costs. But the slums boil with an anger that all the money in the world cannot control.

The age of machines is dawning, but the age of magic refuses to die. With the help of the mad village woman Isurn-i-Phail, Rikke struggles to control the blessing, or curse, of the Long Eye. For now, she casts fleeting glances at the future. However, as the hand of the First of the Magi pulls the strings, the future will not change so easily...