To honour the memory of his recently deceased father, a celebrated general who led the forces of the empire in its last great war twenty years before, Shen Tai has spent the two years of official mourning alone at the isolated battlefield, burying as many of the unnumbered dead as he can. At night Tai can hear the ghosts moan and stir, and occasionally, when one voice falls silent, he knows it belongs to someone he has laid to rest. But as Tai prepares for his return home, he receives news of an overwhelming gift--one that can change his life. As he heads east to the glittering capital and court, he must gather his wits to face the deadly intrigues that lie ahead.