After spending most of her life on the islands of Alisdrane in a distant part of the Southern Realm, Princess Talia Isarel sets out for her home after discovering that the peaceful neighboring town of Cale has been destroyed. Early in her journey, she is attacked by raiders and her escorts murdered before escaping overboard in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Marooned and alone, she falls into company with Jared Medall and after an incident in which a prominent citizen is killed in the port citadel of Astla, they flee from pursuers across the Southern Realm in the hopes of reaching her home - the great capital of Baledon.