Rodel Ituralde rallies Domani lords for a daring campaign against the Seanchan, while in the Black Tower Logain departs for Cairhien with bonded Aes Sedai in tow. Within the White Tower, Yukiri and the Black Ajah hunters press their secret investigation, and in Caemlyn, Deira Bashere is wounded by intruders searching Davram's belongings, while Dobraine nearly falls to an assassin's blade.
Mat watches the harbour of Ebou Dar from hiding, recalling how he smuggled Tuon, Egeanin and the others out of the city six nights earlier. The weight of his gamble settles over him as he realises the Seanchan will be hunting for the missing Daughter of the Nine Moons with every resource at their command.
Mat returns to Valan Luca's travelling show to find Seanchan soldiers requisitioning horses, forcing the entire company to maintain their cover story. The performers hold their nerve, and the soldiers depart without discovering the fugitives hidden among the wagons.
Tuon gives Mat her word that she will neither betray him nor attempt escape, so long as he keeps his promises to her. Mat learns that Tylin was killed by the gholam after his departure, a death that lands on his conscience despite the necessity of his flight from Ebou Dar.
Furyk Karede, a captain of the Deathwatch Guard, reviews the fruitless search for the missing Daughter of the Nine Moons across Ebou Dar. Convinced that Tuon was kidnapped rather than killed, he resolves to leave the city and track her captors himself, knowing his life is forfeit if he fails.
Twenty-one days after Faile's capture, Perrin trails the Shaido across Altara with grim determination, having lost precious time on a false lead. Selande reports on Masema's camp, confirming the Prophet is following Perrin's force, and intelligence suggests Masema has been dealing secretly with the Seanchan.
Perrin discovers the tracks of Darkhounds circling his camp, their prints nearly an hour old and headed south rather than toward his people. Berelain's scouts confirm that Masema has indeed been meeting with the Seanchan, deepening Perrin's suspicion that the Prophet serves his own hidden agenda.
Perrin and his companions study the massive Darkhound tracks while Masuri sketches the prints with a scholar's intensity that borders on obsession. Masema rides in to announce he has found a nearby city where they can purchase supplies, pressing Perrin to abandon his careful tracking in favour of speed.
Elyas and an Aiel Maiden bring word that the Shaido have been located, and Perrin rides out with a small party to scout their encampment. The sheer size of the Shaido force becomes apparent as Perrin studies the sprawling camp around the town of Malden, realising a direct assault would be suicidal.
Faile serves under the Wise One Someryn in the Shaido camp at Malden, gathering intelligence while enduring the humiliations of gai'shain captivity. Aravine pledges her loyalty to Faile, who is caught hiding a knife and punished by being tied naked to a post overnight, surviving only because of Rolan's quiet protection.
Elayne rides out from Caemlyn to visit the minor Houses loyal to her claim, shoring up support for her bid for the Lion Throne. A maid's shriek over a supposed ghost unsettles the household, a sign of the growing unease that bubbles of evil have spread across the land.
Elayne returns to Caemlyn to find the palace running smoothly in her absence, though Merilille has vanished without explanation. Vandene presses for vengeance against the Black sister who killed her twin Adeleas, while Elayne contends with the rival camps besieging the city from without.
Elayne renegotiates her bargain with the Sea Folk Windfinders, who demand to leave for the choosing of a new Mistress of the Ships. She reluctantly agrees to give them Merilille as a teacher for a year and one square mile of good land in Andor, extracting their continued service in return.
Elayne receives four young High Seats who have declared for her cause, only to discover they are barely more than children thrust into their positions by the upheavals of war. Dyelin helps her navigate the awkward audience, though the young nobles' enthusiasm outstrips their experience.
Elayne meets with her intelligence advisors behind wards against eavesdropping, learning of spies within the palace and the growing threat from Darkfriend agents. The Aes Sedai midwife Monaelle confirms that Elayne carries twins, while the disappearance of a Sea Folk apprentice alongside Merilille raises troubling questions.
Elenia schemes within Arymilla's siege camp, secretly building support for her own claim to the Lion Throne while outwardly serving her captor's ambitions. Across the city, Daved Hanlon meets with the Darkfriend Shiaine to exchange intelligence, the two of them weaving their own plots within the larger web of Caemlyn's politics.
Egwene watches Tar Valon's harbour from the riverbank of the Erinin, weighing Gareth Bryne's push for a direct assault against her own preference for a slower siege. She permits Beonin to approach the Tower's Sitters about negotiations, a gambit designed to buy time while the rebel Hall remains fractious and divided.
Egwene inspects the sisters practising the weave for turning iron into cuendillar, the rebels' key strategic advantage against Tar Valon's harbour chains. She impresses upon her inner council that the secret of Travelling must be guarded as zealously as any weapon, knowing its discovery by the Tower would erase their greatest edge.
Egwene and Siuan pore over intelligence reports in the Amyrlin's study, analysing the unusual pattern of Sitters chosen by both the rebel and Tower Halls. A party of Aes Sedai who investigated the site where Shadar Logoth once stood returns with startling findings and demands to present them before the Hall.
The rebel Hall hears testimony from the sisters who examined the crater where Shadar Logoth was destroyed, confirming that both saidin and saidar were wielded there in staggering quantities. After fierce debate, the Sitters vote to allow Asha'man to be included in linked circles, a landmark and deeply controversial decision.