On the Letherii continent the exiled Malazan army commanded by Adjunct Tavore begins its march into the eastern Wastelands, to fight for an unknown cause against an enemy it has never seen. The fate awaiting the Bonehunters is one no soldier can prepare for - the foe is uncertainty and the only weapon worth wielding is stubborn courage.

Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Anomander Rake, Son of Darkness, the Malazan Empire simmers with discontent. Its legions yearn for some respite from the chaos and killing.

Darujhistan swelters in the summer heat and seethes with portents, rumours and whispers. Strangers have arrived, a murderer is abroad, past-tyrannies are stirring and assassins seem to be targeting the owners of K'rul's Bar.

Bled dry by interminable warfare, infighting and bloody confrontations with Lord Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, the vast, sprawling Malazan empire simmers with discontent. Even its imperial legions yearn for some respite. This is a novel in which a design, a mythology, wild and wayward magic and a host of characters combine with storytelling.

The ravaged continent of Genabackis has given birth to a terrifying new empire, the Pannion Domin, seething across the land leaving a bloody trail. In its path stands an uneasy alliance of former enemies, but the ancient clans are gathering and dark forces are stirring.

The fifth tale in Erikson's epic Malazan Book of the Fallen fantasy sequence.

In the vast dominion of Seven Cities, in the holly desert of Raraku, the seer Sha'ik and her followers prepare for the long-prophesied uprising named the Whirlwind. Unprecedented in its size and savagery, this maelstrom of fanaticism and bloodlust will embroil the whole Malazan Empire.

In Northern Genabackis, savage tribal warriors descend from the mountains into the southern flat lands. Their intention is to wreak havoc among the despised lowlanders, but for the one named Karsa Orlong it marks the beginning of what will prove an extraordinary destiny.

The Letherii Empire is in turmoil. Rhulad Sengar, the Emperor of a Thousand Deaths, spirals into madness, while the Errant, once a farseeing god, appears suddenly blind to the future. Driven by the corruption and self-interest, the empire edges ever-closer to all-out war with its neighbouring kingdoms.

The Seven Cities Rebellion is over, Sha'ik is dead, but a last rebel force remains, holed up in the city of Y'Ghatan under the fanatical command of Leoman of the Flails. The prospect of laying siege to this ancient fortress makes the battle-weary Malaz 14th Army uneasy.

On the Letherii continent the exiled Malazan army commanded by Adjunct Tavore begins its march into the eastern Wastelands, to fight for an unknown cause against an enemy it has never seen. The fate awaiting the Bonehunters is one no soldier can prepare for, and one no mortal soul can withstand.

In Darujhistan, the saying goes that Love and Death shall arrive together, dancing. It is summer and the heat is oppressive, yet the discomfiture of the small rotund man in the faded red waistcoat is not entirely due to the sun. Dire portents plague his nights and haunt the city's streets like fiends of shadow.

The free-ship Suncurl pilots its way along the Lees of Laughter's end. Aboard the ship, three passengers are the subject of the crew's gossip: the luckless manservant Emancipor Reese, and his masters, the homicidal necromancers known as Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. What secrets do the captain and her First Mate conceal from the rest of the crew?

It is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Coltaine is dead. And now the untried new Adjunct, Tavore, must urgently raise an army able to withstand the forces of the Sha'ik's Whirlwind that are massing in Raraku. The few remaining veterans from Coltaine's march are her only hope.