While battling a vicious winter storm, Roshon ol-Sarifor, along with his father and twin brother are kidnapped and thrust on a journey that takes them far from home—leaving his sister Jasminda believing them dead. Their captors claim that the Queen Who Sleeps is behind their abduction—She wants them to reclaim a magical object hidden in a deadly part of the ocean. But a violent encounter with a gang of pirates forces the ol-Sarifors to seek refuge on a smuggler's ship, where Roshon meets a girl unlike any he's encountered before.

Ani Summerhawk never met a risk she didn't take. But with a price on her head, she and her older brother need to make a quick getaway from a deal gone bad. Every ship in the sea is seeking the reward for returning her to a ruthless captain who believes she's his property. But when her brother agrees to transport three passengers to a dangerous destination, Ani's heart is put on the line for the first time.

The two families battle a treacherous sea, greedy sailors, and a powerful mage as they struggle to retrieve and secure the ancient artifact. And the attraction between a high-spirited girl and a cautious boy comes to a head when they discover that their biggest fight just might be with each other. 

Set two years before the events of Song of Blood & Stone, this action-packed novella answers the question of what happened to Jasminda's family and sets the stage for the events in Cry of Metal & Bone (Earthsinger Chronicles, book 3).