The magician Jerhke has kept the powerful city Shasesserre peaceful for hundreds of years. When he is murdered, his son Rider and his companions, among them a barbarian, a scholar, an imp and several fighters, investigate. They find out that several powerhungry noblemen and magicians have allied themselves under the leadership of the ruthless sorcerer Shai Khe. Their goal is to kill the king and his loyal noblemen, as well as Rider and his friends, in order to take over Shasesserre...

This book is a very short adventure novel (170 pages with large print and lots of space between the lines). The characters and world are actually promising, but only superficially developed. If the novel had been quite a bit longer, that could have been remedied. As it is, it's a series of action scenes with shallow characters and not that much insight into this world. It also has a completely open ending that really leaves you frustrated. Especially since it seems unlikely that the story will be continued after more than 20 years. I'm disappointed and wouldn't recommend this book. It's like a really shallow action movie without a proper ending. Glen Cook can do (and has done) a lot better.