Three years ago, Ylfing watched his master-Chant tear a nation apart with nothing but the words on his tongue. Now he's all alone somewhere new, broken-hearted and grieving but a Chant in his own right, employed as a translator to Sterre de Waeyer, a wealthy merchant of luxury goods, while he struggles to come to terms with what his master did, with the audiences he's been alienated from, and with the stories he can no longer trust himself to tell.

 

        That is, until Ylfing's employer finds out what he is, what he does, and what he knows. At Sterre's command, he begins telling stories once more, fanning the city into a mania for a few shipments of an exotic flower. The prices skyrocket, but when disaster looms – a disaster that only the two of them recognize – Ylfing has to face what he has done and decide who he wants to be: A man who walks away and lets the city shatter, as his master did? Or... something else?

 

        A story can be powerful enough to bring a nation to its knees, certainly. But in the right hands, a story can rebuild a broken dam, keep the floodwaters back, and save a life – or ten thousand lives.

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        "Rowland unleashes formidable skills in this worthy follow-up to 2018’s A Conspiracy of Truths.... Rowland’s characters are consistently surprising and supremely empathetic, and the footnotes, worldbuilding details, and tales sprinkled throughout create a full and complex reality for readers to wander at will. This is a wise, moving, and captivating adventure."

                                                                                          --Publisher's Weekly (starred review)