The Aventine Empire is crumbling under the attacks of savages armed with strange and dangerous powers. Exiled from the empire, a powerful telepath named Leonardo is captured by the savages, and finds himself in unfamiliar territory. Prepared for their brutality and mindless aggression, Leonardo learns their world differs from what he has been taught, and he is forced to question all of his previously held assumptions. 

Lenardo, one of the most powerful Readers in the Aventine Empire, can read thoughts and sense details about objects and people miles away. His abilities are crucial, since the Empire is being attacked by savages with immense psychic powers. When he discovers that one of his former students, Galen, has turned traitor, he's sent on a mission to retrieve the turncoat. Instead, he encounters Lady Aradia, who dreams of ending the conflict. But most of the savage Adepts are allied with Lord Drakonius, whose only interest lies in conquest. Can Lenardo and Aradia find some means together to end the war?