Duncan corNial, the son of Clan Ailane's warleader, has been exiled because of the enmity of other clans. Leaving the Highlands, he finds refuge in the nearby city of Nika, where he makes a new life for himself as a swordmaster and bounty hunter. Meanwhile, back in the Highlands, his younger brother Ll w joins the Highland Guard, an elite body of guards assigned to the royal court in Nika. But before Ll w can get to Nika, Duncan kills a lord's son...