Eleven-year-old Dina has just discovered she has inherited her mother's gift - when people look into her eyes, they are forced to acknowledge all their weaknesses and guilt. It is an unhappy gift, though; people shy away from contact with Dina, and believe her mother is a witch. Dina's mother has just begun to teach her how to use her power wisely when she is called away by the Lawgiver of the Court of the Ravens, to aid in the detection of the murderer of four members of the royal family. Dina's mother does not return the next day. Instead, Dina is fetched by a stranger, Drakan; finding him able to look into her eyes calmly and innocently, she goes with him. But, arriving at the House of the Ravens, she finds her mother captive, and she herself no more than a pawn in a terrifying game of blackmail. Terrified, Dina escapes. But she is pitted against an implacable enemy: Drakan and his army of dragons...

Eleven-year-old Dina has just discovered she has inherited her mother's gift - when people look into her eyes, they are forced to acknowledge all their weaknesses and guilt. It is an unhappy gift, though; people shy away from contact with Dina, and believe her mother is a witch. Dina's mother has just begun to teach her how to use her power wisely when she is called away by the Lawgiver of the Court of the Ravens, to aid in the detection of the murderer of four members of the royal family. Dina's mother does not return the next day. Instead, Dina is fetched by a stranger, Drakan; finding him able to look into her eyes calmly and innocently, she goes with him. But, arriving at the House of the Ravens, she finds her mother captive, and she herself no more than a pawn in a terrifying game of blackmail. Terrified, Dina escapes. But she is pitted against an implacable enemy: Drakan and his army of dragons...