A half-zythian bard named Vanx is in chains for bedding the Duchess of Highlake. The Duke wants him dead, but his wife secretly sent their daughter to buy his freedom from the slave markets. This is bad news, for bad things can happen to an ill guarded caravan in the mountains. When the duke's mercenaries attack to kill the adulterous prisoner all hell breaks loose. Now, the only way Vanx and the Princess of Highlake can escape the duke and his men is if they can somehow make it through the Wildwood, a place that no one has ever returned from before.....