On the eve of the year Mil, a rain of fire falls on the earth and plunges the world into darkness. Fleeing from the devastated Anglia, Elaìne braves the fearsome Sea of Eagles and reaches the land of the Meutes, a hostile territory where the terrifying men-cerfs roam. During this perilous crossing, she crosses Mara, a mysterious surveyor who helps her to survive.Guided by her father's legacy, Elaìne seeks to pierce the secrets of lost knowledge, the one that once allowed men to build cities and prosper. Her journey leads her to the mythical City of King Taon, where the old world still seems to murmur through her ruins. But the rules of this sacred place are vacillating, and access to forgotten knowledge is more dangerous than ever...