Once a year the Dragon Gate is raised to let a fabled beast pass into the Sabian Sea. There, the dragon will be hunted by the Storm Lords, a fellowship of powerful water-mages. Emira Imerle Polivar is coming to the end of her tenure as their leader and has no intention of standing down.
The first message sent to Tom Thorne's phone was just a picture - the blurred image of a man's face, but Thorne had seen enough dead bodies to know that the man was no longer alive. But who was he? Who sent the photograph? And why? While the technical experts attempt to trace the sender, Thorne searches the bulletins for a reported death that matches the photograph. Then another picture arrives.