Poor, desperate, hungry, and without a House all describe seventeen-cycle-old Heort. His one single desire is to save the only living member of his family, his sister Oriana, who has been stricken with demon fever. Heort's fellow villagers, all of whom belong to Houses, desire to send his sister mercifully onto the next world, believing nothing can save her. Only Heort believes in the possibility of finding the only imaginable cure, unicorn's milk. After much begging, Heort convinces the masters to grant him one moon to complete his quest. Trusting that the villagers will keep to their word, Heort rushes down the road without food, map, weapons, or even a pair of shoes. Heort's hope is strengthened when he meets what he assumes to be a traveling master. As Heort soon learns, this "master" is truly Serene of the House of Redston, fleeing to the city of Crosleah in order to escape an arranged marriage.