Olivia's chance to prove herself as a spy hasn't gone well. She knows the rogue Portal and Clan Alpha's illegal artwork sales suggests someone has an agenda for BloodDark that doesn't accord with its peoples' future. Could Earth billionaire Roland Grundfest be behind it all?Hernando is hurt by Olivia's lie, but there's too much at stake to remain mad for long. Olivia and Hernando have to learn to trust the Pure Bloods. They travel with the ruling council by airship through the blazing heat of BloodDark's Day Side, and a climactic encounter in the desert that will decide Olivia's-and BloodDark's-fate once and for all.