The raids haven't stopped, and the Caerwyns are done with terror on the coast. Ellender sails north to do what no one has managed: end northern raids for good. Her grandfather wants concessions. Her uncle wants leverage. And no one believes a woman can walk into that longroom and walk back out with peace, not a coffin.
Somewhere in the middle of it, she gains something she did not go north looking for: a girl no Hall wants, caught between two families who each see her as a mistake to be managed rather than a daughter to be kept. At the same time, her cousin sends his recalcitrant son to Westermere, to learn how to live outside the Caerwyn name.
Ellender has negotiated from strength before. This time she is negotiating with her own blood on both sides of the table.