A decade has passed since Sprout and Cliri fought to save Pelinore from the man who threatened to destroy it. Now, with Boun and Cliri married, new babies in the house, and Sprout a man who has been accepted as the adoptive son of the dynast, the family has built a happiness that Sprout could not have imagined as a child.
But in one devastating afternoon, the family's peace is torn apart when Scelus escapes his long imprisonment, and Sprout is dragged from his loving family and the only realm he has ever known. Cliri and Boun struggle over the loss of their son, and Sprout is thrown into a strange world, where once again he is confronted with powers he doesn't understand--only this time, he must face them alone.
Mara is proud to have been born and raised in the Pacific Northwest where two of her favorite authors also reside (Ursla LeGuin and Patricia McKillip). Whether playing the guitar (rather badly), or painting, or writing, or cooking, Mara builds time for creativity in her life.