Fresh from their victory at Red Grove Rock, the newly named District Warriors believe they have carved out a fragile peace. But their triumph has attracted the attention of a new, more dangerous enemy, a fallen sorcerer, whose intellectual cruelty is far more terrifying than any army. When a dark plague of paranoia begins to rot their new district from the inside out, the heroes discover they are not just fighting a war, but are unwilling subjects in the sorcerer's mad experiment. To save their people, they must hunt the source of the plague, a journey that will force Dahmoe to confront the darkness of his own power and the impossible choice between two different kinds of love.