Sult arrives at Glokta’s quarters in Adua and reports that Dagoska has fallen to the Gurkish. General Vissbruck committed suicide rather than be captured. Sult strips Glokta of his title as Superior of Dagoska but appoints him Superior of Adua, a position he will share with Superior Goyle in what Sult calls healthy competition. He orders Glokta to handle the Gurkish envoy and discover his true intentions.

Glokta interrogates Tulkis, a thickset envoy who serves the Emperor rather than the Prophet Khalul—representing a growing divide between church and state in Gurkhul. The Emperor desires peace after the costly siege of Dagoska. When Glokta questions how the Union can surrender Dagoska without appearing weak, Tulkis proposes a solution: He will deliver a dozen ornate but empty chests as reparations, allowing the Union to claim they contain a fortune and save face. Glokta agrees to convey the offer to his superiors.

On their ninth day through the mountains, Logen sees the ocean marking the western edge of the continent. They descend into flat country and are guided to the Great Western Library, a massive, crumbling structure with three tall towers. Bayaz reveals this was where his master taught him the Art. An elderly servant admits them to a vast, dusty hall, and shortly after, a woman named Cawneil descends the stairs, greeting Bayaz as an old lover. She insists they wash and dine before discussing business.

The meal is uncomfortable, with poor food and icy tension between the two Magi. When Bayaz asks about the ship Juvens built, Cawneil confirms she has maintained one as promised, but their conversation erupts into an argument. She accuses Bayaz of abandoning her for Tolomei and recounts how Bayaz convinced Tolomei to betray her father and let him into the House of the Maker, leading to both their deaths when Kanedias threw his daughter from the roof before Bayaz killed him. Cawneil reveals she was also Khalul’s lover and mocks Bayaz’s destructive ambitions. The argument ends with both Magi trading vicious insults while the rest of the party sits in terrified silence. Jezal, catching his reflection, is horrified by his disfigured jaw and scarred lip, but resolves he is a better man for the journey.

That night, Ferro slips into bed with Logen, seeking warmth. She holds his hand and pretends she is safe, knowing this brief respite cannot last.

Marshal Burr briefs Generals Poulder and Kroy on the battle plan based on intelligence from Shivers’ defectors. Kroy’s division will advance down the valley to draw Bethod into combat while Poulder’s division moves through the woods on the northern ridge to attack the Northmen’s flank. The two generals immediately begin arguing about past failures. West announces that Poulder’s cavalry will be held in reserve under Burr’s direct command, enraging Poulder. Burr warns them of reports that Bethod may have reinforcements from across the mountains.

After the generals leave, West informs Threetrees and Dogman that he has arranged a position on the far left of Poulder’s line, which he believes will be the safest place in the battle. Afterward, Cathil approaches West and asks him if he was outside the tent the other night, when she and Dogman were making love. West admits to discovering Dogman and Cathil’s intimacy, and he cannot stop himself from telling Cathil that Dogman was a “disappointing” choice. Cathil tells West she chose Dogman over him because West is “too angry” (503) for her, and leaves. West watches her go in disbelief, amazed she would call him too angry compared to the “stinking savage” (503), Dogman.

Before dawn, Vitari comes to Glokta’s bedchambers to escort him to the King’s palace, where Arch Lector Sult stands over the brutally murdered corpse of Crown Prince Raynault. The wounds suggest an Eater attack: a torn-off hand, flesh bitten from the arm, throat mauled. Sult explains that with Raynault dead, the King has no heir, and the Open Council will elect the next monarch through a vote vulnerable to manipulation. He orders Glokta to find Raynault’s murderer immediately. Glokta discovers a fragment of white cloth with gold thread clutched in the dead prince’s hand.

Glokta interrogates Tulkis, presenting the cloth fragment and claiming it matches a bloody garment found in the envoy’s chambers. Tulkis pleads his innocence, warning that agents of the Prophet are framing him to sabotage the Emperor’s peace offer. Glokta believes him, but Sult insists that only results matter. The appearance of punishment is more important than the guilty being found. Glokta gets the message and tortures Tulkis until he signs a confession. Afterward, Glokta tells Severard he still has questions and orders him to bring in the palace guard who was on duty at the Prince’s chambers, determined to uncover the truth.

At dawn, West and his officers watch General Kroy’s division deploy in the valley before Dunbrec. Marshal Burr, complaining of indigestion, grows anxious as Bethod’s army advances from the trees to engage Kroy’s forces. West spots unexpected cavalry on the southern ridge threatening Kroy’s flank and Burr sends a warning, but Poulder remains silent.

On the northern ridge, Dogman’s group and Shivers’ Carls hold the far left of Poulder’s line. Without warning, Dogman smells Shanka—an arrow strikes Cathil in the side, and hundreds of Shanka swarm up the hill. After brutal fighting the Northmen repel the first assault, but Cathil dies from her wound.

At the command post, Burr violently collapses, vomiting black bile. Realizing the army will fall apart if his illness is known, West secretly takes command and issues orders in Burr’s name—refusing Poulder’s request to withdraw and committing the cavalry reserves to reinforce Kroy.

On the ridge, supernatural mist rises with palpable fear. A giant figure emerges: the Feared (Fenris, the cruel, unstoppable giant who is Bethod’s champion) half-armored and half-covered in blue tattoos, impervious to arrows. To counter the paralyzing terror, which Fenris magically induces in his enemy, Threetrees orders a charge. Dogman stabs the Feared and is hurled into a tree. The Feared hammers Threetrees to the ground, but not before Threetrees drives his sword through the giant’s thigh. When Shivers, Tul, and Dow join the fight, the Feared wrenches the sword free—leaving no wound—and retreats into the mist. Dogman crawls to Threetrees, who grabs his shirt and dies.

At day’s end, Poulder and Kroy arrive arguing furiously. As West’s deception nears exposure, a deathly ill Burr emerges from the tent and takes command. West slips away and collapses behind a rock, watching as once again, soldiers dig graves in the valley.

Tulkis is to be executed by living disembowelment in public for his crime of regicide. Glokta and Ardee arrive at the Square of Marshals, along with the rest of the city, to watch Tulkis’s execution. Practical Severard reports that he followed Vitari to a house where she keeps three red-haired children; the color of their hair suggests they are Vitari’s own offspring. Glokta reflects that he now understands why Vitari was so desperate to return to Adua. Severard also informs Glokta that the guard from the Prince’s chambers went missing the day before the murder. Glokta orders Severard to get him a list of everyone present in the palace that night. The crowd falls silent as Tulkis is hoisted up and gutted. Glokta whispers to Ardee that the envoy was innocent—a scapegoat for someone who wants war between the Union and Gurkhul.

Later at Ardee’s apartment, she and Glokta discuss the succession crisis. With the King dying and no heir, the Open Council will elect the next monarch from among several noble candidates, while the Closed Council seeks a weak figure they can control. Glokta also mentions rumors of a possible royal bastard: Carmee dan Roth, a former court beauty who disappeared years ago and may have died in childbirth.

Their conversation is interrupted by a visitor: Mauthis from the banking house of Valint and Balk. He warns plainly that his employers are displeased with Glokta’s continued investigation into Raynault’s murder, and the genuine fear in his face transfers directly to Glokta. Realizing he is completely in the bankers’ power, Glokta agrees to drop all further inquiries into the killing.

The party lands on Shabulyan, a barren island of rock at the edge of the world and their final destination. The sailors in whose boat they have travelled refuse to come ashore and wait by the beach. Logen lights a fire and summons the island’s spirit by blowing liquor over the flames. A towering spirit of grey rock appears, saying it has been waiting for them, and reaches into its stone body to relinquish what was left in its keeping.

The spirit drops a grey stone the size of a fist into Ferro’s hands. After the spirit disappears, Bayaz examines the relic and declares it is not the Seed—just a worthless rock. He concludes that Kanedias must have tricked his brothers, swapping the real Seed for a stone and keeping the artifact for himself. The party is devastated: Ferro rages that her promised vengeance is denied, Jezal fumes over his wasted and scarring journey, and Bayaz explodes in rage, smashing the stone to pieces and terrifying everyone.

Returning to the ship, Jezal finds himself smiling despite the failure—he is finally going home. On deck, Logen and Ferro discuss their futures: She will keep fighting the Gurkish and he will return to the North to settle scores. They stand in silence, unable to bridge the distance between them. Ferro curses her inability to express what she feels, believing that the Gurkish killed that part of her long ago.

The day after the battle, Dogman, Dow, Tul, Grim, West, and Pike stand before the freshly made graves of Cathil and Threetrees, while Shivers and his Carls bury their own dead nearby. Dow angrily confronts West about his promise that their position would be safest, but Tul reminds him that people die in battles. Dogman gives a plain but heartfelt eulogy for Cathil, saying that he wished he would have gotten the chance to know her better. Grim delivers a longer tribute to Threetrees, recalling 10 years of service to the man they called the Rock of Uffrith. West and Pike depart without speaking.

Shivers approaches and says his men need a new chief. Dogman assumes it will be Tul or Dow, but they say that since cannot follow each other’s command, the leader will have to be someone else. To Dogman’s shock, they name him the new chief. Despite his protests, Tul, Dow, and Grim confirm the decision and leave. Dogman kneels at the graves, touches the cold earth, says farewell to Cathil and Threetrees, and walks back to rejoin the living.