Tensions grow in the crowded City of Yartha as it enters a blistering summer and its second year of drought. As the season reaches its zenith, scholar Byron Levant forgoes his life of privilege to devote himself to a long-forgotten religious sect. In his mystical pursuits he comes across an unorthodox method to bring rain back to the land.  Swept up in the whirlwind of his reckless ambition are Syatt and Pox, lowborn thieves and petty criminals from Tabby Square, and Alma Bryde, a former soldier of the Yarthanguard. As a shadow of violence looms over the city, chance meetings lead to unlikely alliances, unraveling secrets, and a harrowing journey thrust upon them- a race against time that will decide the future of the city and beyond.