The kingdom is bankrupt, forcing a woman and her mother to send her to Kaldaria to secure a trade deal with Victor. Meanwhile, her sister Selena has taken much of the kingdom's wealth for a marriage alliance with Serathia's enemy, Caledonia, a move the woman believes is treacherous. Amid her sister's cruel taunts, she departs for the dangerous North, determined to win over a northern leader named Rain to gain the power she needs to save her mother, even as her companion fears they will be slaughtered by the barbarians.