A peace treaty leads to shipwreck and disaster... and the survivors, including the leaders of two mighty nations, find that the slippery footing of international diplomacy is nothing compared to the struggle for survival. King and queen, advisor and ambassador, asilor and scribe alike are stranded in a land where danger lies everywhere, and hope is an ocean away. As they consipire to destroy each other, mysterious forces that control the elements conspire to destroy them all. Their only chance fo rsurvival: the honor of an awkward valet and the uncertain magic of two half-trained female birds.