The penultimate book in the acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen fantasy seriesOn the Letherii continent the exiled Malazan army commanded by Adjunct Tavore begins its march into the eastern Wastelands, to fight for an unknown cause against an enemy it has never seen.

It is said that Hood waits at the end of every plot, every scheme, each grandiose ambition. But this time it is different: this time the Lord of Death is there at the beginning. Darujhistan swelters in the summer heat and seethes with portents, rumours and whispers.