Through flashbacks we find out about Lia's dad. He was the Prince of Pry-Ree and was having visions of how he would die and what would happen to Lia after. He sent her to Muirwood as a wretched because he kew she would need to be humble in order to overcome the obstacles that would be thrown at her. He sent Martin there to watch over her and to teach her later to defend herself. Throughout the book we learn a little more piece by piece until we witness his death near the end.
Lia goes to confront the Aldermaston and realizes that she can't talk about it. The Aldermaston confirms that he could not tell her about her heritage because the Prince had cast a binding sigil so no one could talk about it. One of the Pry-Ree hunters, Kieran Ven, who had captured Ellowyn came to the Abbey in secret and convinced Lia to go with him. They traveled together through the Apse Vail to Comoros to rescue Marciana. In the process Lia ran into Reome and convinced her to return pregnant with Dieyre's child to Muirwood. They rescue Marciana and Kieran was mortally wounded. Lia gifts him with life and he recovers in Muirwood after they returned through the Apse Vail.
Lia travelled alone to Augustin since it was the closest Abbey to Dahomey. When she arrived the Aldermaston tried to kidnap her as he was in on the plot and thought he would be the Aldermaston of Muirwood next. The Queen had been controlling the cider exports from Muirwood and made everyone think Muirwood was richer then it was. She was able to escape the Abbey and got on board the Holk of Doviur. The captain had originally betrayed Lia's mother and felt bad about it and tried to repent by escorting Lia. The ship was waylaid by a storm and Lia stopped it by the Medium.
Upon arriving in Dahomey, she was guided by the Medium to a friendly Inn. She convinced the owners that they needed to flee to Muirwood or be destroyed. The young son guided her across to Dochte Abbey. On the way they came across a group of Dochte Mandar who were working with the Hetaera. They were men who could use force the Medium to do their bidding. They told Lia she would have to accept the Water Rights or be destroyed soon. Once inside Dochte Abbey, Lia was guided by her Orb to Colvin's room. She waited for him and told him she needed to rescue Ellowyn before they could escape. She came across Martin pretending to be a stable hand and fell asleep in the loft. At night she snuck up to meet with Ellowyn and told her of their plan to escape.
When Lia went to get her and Colvin later, she had been betrayed by Ellowyn. Lia and Martin were captured. Lia admitted she was the one to kill the King. The young Prince had her cast into the Hetaera snake pit to see if she would be proven innocent. The others wanted it because Lia would be forced to choose to be a Hetaera or die. When Lia went into the Pit, she was able to overcome the obstacles and survive without being killed. The snakes did not actually kill the person, they just made it appear so for several days. When she awoke, the Dochte Mandar surrounded her, expecting her to now be a Hetaera. When they learned she was not she was cast into a fire pit with others who refused to follow the Dochte Mandar.
Lia and Martin survive through her immunity to fire. Maderos helps her escape into the depths of Dochte Abbey. There he makes her an Aldermaston and teachers her how to seal the Hetaera Leering and give all of them the Blight. Now when a Hetaera kisses someone, they are given the Blight and will die. After cursing the leering, she escaped to Muirwood just in time to witness it's destruction. The Queen had burned it. Lia led the few remaining survivors to safety under the hidden tunnels and they escaped to Pry-Ree to board the ships to safety. Lia stayed behind as the new Aldermaston. She guided any who came across Muirwood to Pry-Ree to safety.
Lia was under the assumption Colvin thought she was dead and had married Ellowyn. Some soldiers came by and said that the Earl of Forshee had lost a battle trying to fight the new King after they burned all of the Abbey's. Colvin eventually shows up and tells Lia he knew Ellowyn was a Hetaera and played along until he was guided by her orb back to Muirwood. Together they went to Pry-Ree and left on the last ships to leave before the Blight destroyed everyone.