Lilybet Haverly is the sort of girl who would rather trample roses than swoon over them. When her father makes a terrible bargain with the Beast of Briarstone Abbey, she runs away in the middle of the night to save her younger sister from a fate worse than death. But when she discovers the true secret of the Abbey and its unpleasant Master, Bet is forced to reconsider everything she knows.
Convinced he has been abandoned and that time is running short, Corwin justifies what he has done to the Merchant and his family. The stakes are higher than anyone knows. He has been charged with a daunting task, to protect a world that does not know it needs protecting. But the girl who comes to him is not what he desired or expected. Getting her to fall in love with him will be the hardest thing he has ever attempted. When the fabric of reality begins to rip apart, Corwin finds himself caught between a girl who despises him and the deadly Underworlders intent on his demise.
And they are both running out of time.