Stashie is a heart reader. She wields a dangerous magic: one that reveals the truth at the heart of a person. So when the old king nneds to know which of hissons has he pure heart, and whichmust be killed, he turns to heart readers to tell him the truth. But Stsshie is a victim of vicious Gerneral Tarne, the country's military leader. The empire's killing machine ruined her life - this is her chance for revenge.