This second volume in "The Liveship Traders" trilogy returns readers to the timeless city of Bingtown, where pirates plague the coasts. Althea Vestrit doesn't have time to be afraid, for her family's newly awakened Liveship has been seized by the ruthless pirate Kennit. She hatches a bold plan, but to carry it out, she must recruit a Liveship that already has slain two crews and is said to be insane.