Elaida surveys her grand palace under construction and dispatches fifty sisters to destroy the Black Tower, blind to the true scale of what awaits them. Sevanna leads the Shaido against the Aes Sedai at Dumai's Wells but is forced to flee when male channelling creates a wall of Air. Alviarin receives instruction in Travelling from Mesaana, while Pedron Niall is murdered by his own spymaster and Eamon Valda seizes command of the Whitecloaks. Gawyn and the surviving Younglings fight desperately to stay alive in the aftermath of the battle.
Perrin grows uneasy as Aram and the Two Rivers men mutter darkly about the captive Aes Sedai, some suggesting it would be better if the sisters were dead. Troubled by the mood in camp and the Aiel gai'shain's provocations, Perrin decides he must speak with Rand directly.
Rand places all the captured Aes Sedai under the care of the Wise Ones, overruling both Taim and the sisters who swore fealty to him. Perrin warns Rand plainly that he will stand against him if the Aes Sedai are mistreated, and the group learns that Taim has taken the title M'Hael before Travelling to Cairhien.
The group arrives in Cairhien to find the city seething with rumours that Rand has gone to kneel before the White Tower. Feraighin reports that Colavaere has crowned herself, that rebels under Caraline Damodred and Toram Riatin have approached the city, and that unknown Aes Sedai have taken up residence within its walls.
Rand's party enters the Sun Palace, where Dashiva casually offers to have the Asha'man kill anyone who needs killing. Perrin meets members of Cha Faile and learns that his wife has been serving as one of Colavaere's attendants, a revelation that fills him with dread as they are led into the great hall.
Rand confronts Colavaere on the Sun Throne, breaking her crown with the Power before mending it again to prove that what is done can be undone. When evidence of her murders and treachery is laid bare, he strips her of all titles and estates and exiles her to a farm, choosing mercy over the death sentence Cairhienin law demands.
Perrin and Faile argue fiercely over Berelain and the rumours she has spread, their shouting turning unexpectedly intimate before Rand interrupts. Rand asks Perrin to command the army marching on Illian, but Perrin refuses, insisting he is no general and pressing Rand once more about the treatment of the Aes Sedai.
Rand travels in disguise to visit Bashere in Andor, where he learns of the growing strength of his forces and the political turmoil surrounding the Lion Throne. After hearing that Dyelin has been punishing nobles who declared themselves rivals for the crown, Rand announces that the spears will march on Illian.
Egwene presses Sheriam to reveal the truth about sisters sent secretly back to the White Tower to spread the story of Logain being set up by the Red Ajah. A sudden sharp pain through the a'dam link alerts her that Moghedien has been freed, and she concludes with dread that a male channeller must have been responsible.
Egwene sends Faolain and Theodrin to investigate Moghedien's disappearance, practising the steel resolve Siuan has been teaching her. Nicola and Areina attempt to blackmail her with knowledge of Nynaeve and Elayne posing as full sisters, but Egwene faces them down coldly, making it clear that such threats will not be tolerated.
Egwene meets the Wise Ones in Tel'aran'rhiod, revealing that she has been raised Amyrlin and asking them not to tell Rand, fearing he might try to rescue her. Afterwards she falls into troubled dreams - visions of Gawyn facing two paths, Mat surrounded by Illuminators, Logain stepping over Rand's body, and a man whose death the world would both mourn and celebrate.
Faolain and Theodrin swear personal fealty to Egwene, the first sisters to do so, while Egwene manoeuvres between Lelaine and Romanda's constant feuding. She consults with Gareth Bryne about his siege plans and the growing rebel army, determined to be a true Amyrlin rather than the puppet the Hall intended.
Egwene discovers that Myrelle secretly holds Lan's bond, passed to her to keep him alive after Moiraine's apparent death. She sends Lan to Ebou Dar to protect Nynaeve, then leverages her knowledge of Myrelle and Nisao's transgressions to make both sisters swear fealty, adding to the quiet circle of Aes Sedai loyal to her alone.
Aviendha and the others visit the Sea Folk ships in Ebou Dar harbour, where they learn of a ter'angreal called the Bowl of the Winds that may be able to mend the unnatural weather. The Sea Folk recognise the object and Nesta din Reas insists on making a Bargain, while Elayne and Nynaeve realise they will need Mat's ta'veren luck to find the Bowl itself.
Mat bets everything on Olver's horse and wins, then spots the Darkfriend Mili Skane on the streets of Ebou Dar. He follows her through the city to the Chelsaine Palace and learns from a watchful old man that Jaichim Carridin, a Whitecloak Inquisitor, lives there.
Sammael visits Carridin in disguise and orders him to leave Mat alone unless he interferes with the search for a hidden cache of angreal and ter'angreal. Carridin warns that the Aes Sedai in the city could complicate matters, and Sammael promises to send someone to deal with them.
Mat is caught between two factions of Aes Sedai at the Tarasin Palace, each trying to claim authority over him before he is rescued by a summons from Queen Tylin. He meets Tylin's son Beslan, writes a note warning Elayne and Nynaeve about Carridin entertaining Darkfriends, and begins to suspect that Tylin has designs on him.
Mat returns to the Wandering Woman to find an assassin waiting in his room and kills the man in a desperate struggle. Elsewhere, Joline and Teslyn argue over what to do about Elayne and Nynaeve, while the Black Ajah sister Falion murders a Wise Woman during her search for the cache, scheming to capture Nynaeve as a gift for Moghedien.
Rand meets Cadsuane Melaidhrin for the first time when she arrives unannounced and treats him with a blunt disregard for his title that leaves him off balance. She asks whether he hears voices, a common sign of madness in male channellers, and departs as abruptly as she came, leaving Rand shaken. Shortly after, Idrien Tarsin brings word that the scholar Herid Fel has been torn apart.
Cadsuane questions the Aes Sedai who have sworn to Rand, probing their loyalties and showing displeasure only at Alanna for having bonded him without consent. Min visits Rand and comforts him over Herid Fel's death, the two drawing closer together in their shared grief. Cadsuane observes the Aiel's open contempt for Aes Sedai and quietly resolves that something must be done about it.