A short novel of immense scope that shows Terry Goodkind's storytelling powers at their very best. In the days of the war against Panis Rahl, a young woman presents the first wizard with an intractable choice and forces him into an encounter that could unleash a maelstrom of magic.

A young woman arrives at Aydindril to petition for the help of the First Wizard in one of the many desperate conflicts in the war against D'Hara and the vicious rule of Panis Rahl. Little does the First Wizard, much less the woman herself, know that the woman's Debt of Bones - a deal struck years before committing the Wizard to action - will tie him to a course of action that will result in cataclysmic duel of magic with Panis Rahl himself.