HE LADIES REIGN. THE PALACE ROTS. THE BEAST RISES.

When the Guardian of the West Passage died in her bed, the women of Grey Tower fed her to the crows and went back to their chores. No successor was named as Guardian, no one took up the fallen blade; the West Passage went unguarded.

Now, snow blankets Grey in the height of summer, foretelling the coming of the Beast. The too-young Mother of Grey House and the Guardians unnamed squire set out to save their people.

Their narrow shoulders bear a heavy burden. Before them lies the West Passage, home to horrors and delights that defy imagining. None can say if theyll reach their destinations, but one thing is for sure: the world is about to change.