Synopsis: From the back cover of the DAW paperback: "Erenthrall - A sprawling city of light and magic, its streets are packed with traders from a dozen lands and its buildings and towers are grown and shaped in the space of a day. At the heart of the city is the Nexus, the hub of a magical ley line system that powers Erenthrall. These ley lines also link the city and the Baronial plains to the rest of the continent and the world beyond. The Prime Wielders control the Nexus with secrecy and lies, but it is the Baron who controls the Wielders. The Baron also dominates the rest of the Baronies through a web of brutal intimidation by his bloodthirsty guardsmen and his unnatural assassins. When the rebel Kormanley seek to destroy the ley system and the Baron's chokehold, two people find themselves caught in the chaos that sweeps through Erenthrall and threatens the entire world: Kara Tremain, a young wielder coming into her power, who discovers the forbidden truth behind the magic that powers the ley lines; and Alan Garrett, a recruit in the Baron's guard, who learns that the city holds more mysteries and more danger than he could possibly have imagined... and who holds a secret within himself that could mean Erenthrall's destruction - or its salvation."