Tanthalas is a crowded, stinking, dangerous place, but to Dustra, it's home. And all of the world she's ever known. She serves old Launtelle, an old woman who sells secrets for a living. And when you know too much, enemies swarm to you like moths to a flame. One of them is THE Big Foe, watching from afar like a malevolent stormfront: the Heirophar, the mysterious and all-mighty archwizard. Or is he? What does Launtelle know about him that may doom her, and Dustra along with her? And who is the local vagabond everyone calls "Tavern," really? As death closes in to claim more folks than usual, will the secrets whispered by the old witch prove Dustra's salvation . . . or her doom?