This high fantasy is the second volume in the High Druid trilogy and the 13th installment in the bestselling Shannara series. Grianne Ohmsford has been robbed of her place as High Druid by the treacherous, power-hungry Shadea a'Ru, and imprisoned in the demon realm known as the Forbidden. Grianne's nephew Penderrin Ohmsford and a small band of companions embark on a dangerous quest for the Tanequil, a tree necessary to the manufacture of a talisman that will allow Pen to enter the Forbidding and free his aunt. Unfortunately, Shadea is aware of Pen's intentions, and has set an assassin on his trail.