When Erebor's halls blaze with song once more, Thorin Oakenshield believes the worst is behind him - dragon, exile, sickness of gold. Yet when a woman's music awakens memories long buried, he feels a fire in his chest more consuming than greed. Nyra comes to the Mountain as a musician for the month-long celebrations, but her gift is more than melody. With every note, visions rise before her eyes - Thorin's memories, his pain, his unspoken fears. She should flee, yet the Mountain hums when she sings, and the King himself begins to burn for her. But flame is not meant to be tamed. As Thorin's obsession deepens into possessive devotion, whispers of a rival queen and old alliances threaten to tear them apart. The prophecy speaks only of choice: "When flame walks the Mountain, the King shall choose." Yet prophecy does not say whether flame will steady stone - or consume it. Bound by visions, fire, and fate, Nyra and Thorin must decide whether love can endure when flame meets stone... or whether the Mountain itself will break beneath them.

Following the Battle of the Five Armies, a grievously wounded Thorin is brought back to the kingdom of Erebor, which is still mostly in ruins. Although he's survived the wounds he received at the end of Azog's blade, his recovery is far from complete. When she's asked to help the dwarves tend to their wounded, medical student Jasna Stoneham reluctantly agrees. Not only is she only just barely a qualified to even set foot in the infirmary, but she stutters when she gets nervous and nervous does not even begin to describe how she's feeling. To make matters worse, no one thought to warn her that she would be caring for the king himself, Thorin Oakenshield. Unfortunately, the road to recovery isn't necessarily a smooth one, but if there's one thing Thorin will learn, it's that what Jasna lacks in experience and training, she makes up for in stubbornness, giving him a run for his money. And for every backwards step he takes, she is there to push him three steps forward. And Jasna will soon find out that there is a gentle, softer side to the dwarf king, one that very few people have ever seen and one he fights to keep hidden from her as well. But like his recovery, that is also easier said than done.