An ice age strikes a chain of islands, and thousands come to seek sanctuary at the gates of Villjamur: a city of ancient spires and bridges, a place where banshees wail the deceased, cultists use forgotten technology for their own gain and where, further out, the dead have been seen walking across the tundra. When the Emperor commits suicide, his elder daughter Rika, is brought home to lead the Jamur Empire, but the sinister Chancellor plans to get rid of her and claim he throne for himself. Meanwhile a senior investigator in the city inquisition must solve the high-profile and savage murder of a city polictican whilst battling evils within his own life, and a handsome and serial womanizer manipulates his way into the imperial residence with a hidden agenda.
