"Kareem cradled her close to him, tucking her between his arm and his body, trying to keep her head above the thrashing, pounding waves, but Kate fought against him and slipped from his grasp. Moments later, she resurfaced beside him, and as he reached for her once more, she gripped his head between her two hands and screamed into his face. "Hawklight! Find Hawklight! He can't swim! Leave me! I can make it back to the boat!" He opened his mouth to argue, but she yelled him down. "Don't you understand? Find Hawklight!" A flash of lightning lit her face. Her eyes were wide, fearful, and pleading." The world of Bexus, a hostile place of magic, adventure, and tremendous danger, is once again in peril, and only Kate Gallagher can help. The Hornshurst Talisman, also known as the Toki-Moai, has been stolen, and the citizens of Hornshurst want it back-at any cost. Because of the theft, the city-states of Hornshurst and Cherath have led Bexus to the brink of another crippling war. The Council of Hogarth orders Kate to intervene and wield the power of the crystal that she wrested from Varak only months ago, but Kate has discarded the stone. Once this fact becomes known, she must agree to track down the thief and return the talisman to its rightful owners to avert the war. But Kate and her companion, Hawklight, are not the only ones seeking the Toki-Moai. Fate has played its hand, and Kate cannot begin to comprehend all that she may lose in order for the quest to succeed.