A hero is built, not born, forged in the fires of chaotic happenstance and tempered by fear. Drayvus Varden, handsome elven scoundrel, assassin, and professional mischief maker, falls victim to a perilous case of mistaken identity and is forced to take a job escorting Katelyn Shar, the unfaithful wife of the regional governor, to the place of Dravyus' birth-the elven forest, Oldenhome. With her husband's men giving chase, Drayvus, Katelyn, and the drunken dwarven priest Tahlkin bicker and snark their way south through the Wild Lands, as an army gathers in the north set to begin a war that will change the face of Talandria forever. When Drayvus discovers that Katelyn is to play a part in the oncoming conflict, he is forced to either become a hero or let all he has ever loved wither and die-destroyed by the Plague Seed.