Evadne is finally going to be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been serving in the queen?s army for eight long years. But when Halcyon unexpectedly appears a day early, Evadne knows something is gravely wrong. Halcyon has been charged with a heinous crime and though her life is spared, she has been sentenced to fifteen years of punishment ? five years of hard labour, five years of imprisonment and five years serving the house that she has wronged.