But Valeria knows no woman has ever been called to the Mountain. Until she feels a strange pull and answers the call–as a boy.... When her secret is discovered Valeria loses all that she's won.
Her anger and frustration with the Empire might be enough to give the barbarians a way into the Mountain. And so the Empire now depends on the will, the strength and the loyalty of one Rider. A Rider who has been rejected by all but the gods...