The solstice has begun, and winter is claiming the secrets that summer tried to protect.
After the end of the holidays in Poggio Silente, Lora, Leo, and Zac return to their ordinary routine in the city of the Rhône, convinced that the siege has ended. The relics of the Order of the Acorn rest hidden in the false bottom of an oak wardrobe, and normality seems to reign in their lives once again. However, with the arrival of extreme cold, a dense frost freezes the river currents and the rime draws the silhouette of an ash raven on the apartment window, announcing that the fragment of Malakor's consciousness has awakened.
An open air bridge through the wardrobe transports them back to Italy, where Giulia and Alessia await them under a colossal energy dome that keeps the entire village immersed in a deep sleep to protect the veil. The enemy's mirror map is tracking the Custody Clocks in real time, and the lines of betrayal advance rhythmically toward the far north.
