In Book I of the trilogy, Tamras, our hero, arrives in Merin’s house to begin her apprenticeship as a warrior, but her small stature causes many, including Tamras herself, to doubt that she will ever become a competent swordswoman. To make matters worse, the Lady Merin assigns her the position of companion, little more than a personal servant, to a woman who came to Merin’s house, seemingly out of nowhere, the previous winter, and this stranger wants nothing to do with Tamras. Tamras’s journey begins with the smallest of steps. She sets aside her disappointment and performs as well as she can the humble tasks given her, and eventually she succeeds in winning the trust and then the friendship of the cantankerous warrior to whom she has been assigned. In the first year of her journey, Tamras will make a series of choices that often seem insignificant, but they will flow from her character and from her good intentions, and they will determine her destiny.

Jonas Camden is a photographer for one of fashions most widely known magazine, Vinue. He is also a perfectionist who can never find a model that can make the images in his head come to life. Until he meets Scarlet Westley a shy waitress who is never comfortable in the spotlight and leaves the attention on older step-sister. Can Jonas convince Scarlet to come out of her shell or will she just once again leave the spotlight to her sister?

Kayel was always told she had the potential to be different than other girls her age. Her parents were always telling her she could be actually something other than an innkeeper's daughter. Kayel started almost believing it herself, but something unexpected happens that completely changes her plans. Moved by the desire of revenge for destroying the ones she knew and loved, she stumbles upon knowledge she had no idea existed. But, how does this knowledge affect her motivations? How will her life go on without being able to return to what was before? Will the things that once had made her different be useful to what she is seeking?