FitzChivalry Farseer’s young daughter, Bee, has been kidnapped by the Servants, a secret society whose members not only dream of possible futures but use their prophecies to add to their wealth and influence. As Bee is dragged by her sadistic captors across half the world, Fitz and the Fool, believing her dead, embark on a mission of revenge that will take them to the distant island where the Servants reside --- a place the Fool once called home and later called prison. It was a hell the Fool escaped, maimed and blinded, swearing never to return. For all his injuries, however, the Fool is not as helpless as he seems. And though Fitz is no longer the peerless assassin of his youth, he remains a man to be reckoned with.

Long ago, Fitz and the Fool changed the world, bringing back the magic of dragons and securing both the Farseer succession and the stability of the kingdom. Or so they thought. But now the Fool is near death, maimed by mysterious pale-skinned figures whose plans for world domination hinge upon the powers the Fool may share with Fitz’s own daughter. In a horrible instant, though, Fitz’s world is undone and his beloved daughter stolen away by those who would use her as they had once sought to use the Fool --- as a weapon.

FitzChivalry --- royal bastard and former king's assassin --- has left his life of intrigue at Buckkeep far behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock, Fitz is now married and leading the quiet life of a country squire with his beloved Molly. The only problem is the disappearance of his beloved childhood friend, the Fool. But for a former royal assassin, a quiet life is hard to maintain when old allegiances keep trying to pull him back and new enemies come calling.