Two baby boys are lost in the hostile country of Ganluc-one the firstborn son of a prince and princess (third in line for the Royal Throne of Latoph) and the other a bastard half-breed born to an Itzi slavegirl and fathered by a licentious owner who was executed for treason. Yet Duke Vahn is determined to rescue both of these boys. Scores of knights and bounty hunters have risked their lives trying to retrieve them, yet none can even find a clue to their whereabouts. When all else fails, a bold plan is proposed to send Vahn's most trusted servant posing as a runaway slave in order to gather information. Reluctantly, Vahn sends a strange trio off to Ganluc-his brave captain, a middle-aged healer, and an Itzi slave. Little does he know what challenges await both the trio and his own house, now forced to survive without its key leaders.