Maurey has always been persecuted for the colour of his skin and eyes. He has never known more about his parents than that his mother died the day he was born. When the king's chancellor discovers that Maurey possesses a ring belonging to the missing queen and another that may be the key to finding the hidden kingdom of the inhuman warlocks of Talverdin, he is imprisoned, revealed as a Nightwalker, and sentenced to execution in philosopher's fire. Rescued by a young baroness with her own reasons for fearing the chancellor, Maurey sets out on a dangerous journey to the land of his father's people. If he and Annot are to survive and prevent the destruction of the last refuge of the Nightwalkers, Maurey will have to call on human and inhuman skills he never knew he possessed, and win the trust of both sides of his family....

Maurey has always been persecuted for the colour of his skin and eyes. He has never known more about his parents than that his mother died the day he was born. When the king's chancellor discovers that Maurey possesses a ring belonging to the missing queen and another that may be the key to finding the hidden kingdom of the inhuman warlocks of Talverdin, he is imprisoned, revealed as a Nightwalker, and sentenced to execution in philosopher's fire. Rescued by a young baroness with her own reasons for fearing the chancellor, Maurey sets out on a dangerous journey to the land of his father's people. If he and Annot are to survive and prevent the destruction of the last refuge of the Nightwalkers, Maurey will have to call on human and inhuman skills he never knew he possessed, and win the trust of both sides of his family....

It's the near future. Computers are faster, cars run on fuel cells, and there's not much to do in the small town of Easter River if you're thirteen and not into team sports. Helen Chan-Fisher is happy enough trying singlehandedly to save the world's remaining amphibians from chytridiomycosis, but her friend Jordan O'Blenis is at a loose end. He may be a genius, but it seems like no matter what he tries to do, his robot-building older sister Cassie did it first. Then he has his great idea, an idea so great even Cassie hasn't done it. He'll write a programme for a virtual supercomputer, one that can live on the Web, and grow and spread and learn .... Jordan calls it Cassandra. Helen calls it a virus. Cassandra calls home...and when agents of the government security agency Bureau 6 try to seize her for their own purposes, it's up to Jordan and Helen to keep Cassandra from falling into the wrong hands....

Maurey, the half human, half Nightwalker Warden of Greyrock, and Annot, the dauntless Baroness of Oakhold, have settled down in Greyrock Castle, but those who still hate and fear the Nightwalkers threaten to destroy all they've worked for. While Maurey hunts for two outlaws who may guard an ancient secret, his liegeman Korby begins to uncover the truth about the cult of the Yehillon. Their enemies are always one step ahead of them though. Captured by the Yehillon and held as a hostage against Maurey, Annot struggles to survive and escape. A terrible choice lies before Maurey. If he abandons his defence of the border to save Annot, all Talverdin may fall as the Yehillon, led by their veiled prince, finally carry out a long-laid plan to wipe the warlocks from the face of the earth....