Lucinda, called Land-Stepper, has sung in an alehouse, stirred potions for a mage, and gone wherever the wind blows her, all because she refuses to accept her birthright. When her one-time protector, Sophia, the god of wisdom, demands that she bring Stephen, the wounded lord of West Randburg, to be sacrificed in an ancient rite to appease an unreliable ally, naturally Lucinda refuses. Sophia can't force her will on Lucinda but she can . . . negotiate. To get out of this with their lives intact, Lucinda must convince Stephen to claim his own dubious birthright, figure out how to outwit an elder god, and accept who and what she really is. In the end, she will be forced to learn the true meaning of sacrifice.