Book III of The Tawny Man. A small and sadly untried coterie - the old assassin Chade, the serving-boy Thick, Prince Dutiful and his reluctant Skillmaster Fitz - sail toward the distant isle of Aslevjal. There they must fulfil the Narcheska's challenge: to lay the head of the dragon Icefyre, whom legends tell is buried there deep beneath the ice, upon her hearth. Only then can their marriage proceed and put an end to the war between the two kingdoms. Having abandoned the Fool in Buckkeep, Fitz is guilt-stricken, but determined to keep the fate of his beloved friend at bay, since prophecy foretells the Fool's if he ever sets foot on the isle of the black dragon. But as their ship draws in towards Aslevjal a lone figure awaits them...