Uri, a young holy soldier of Liu, the God of Light, embarks on a perilous mission. The clerics believe that another city has survived-Green Downs Enclosure. But the world beyond High Pine is not what they imagined. Monsters still roam the land, yet human life has persisted.

Sorika knows only hardship and fear. She cannot imagine a life like Uri's-safe from Terrors and free from darkness and pain. Yet she hopes, despite her hardened grandmother's belief that hope makes her weak.

The three of them, with the brave and loyal Dog, journey together to Green Downs, battling Terrors and confronting their own demons. Sorika is Uri's shining light in the darkness; he is her pillar of strength and goodness in a bleak world. In the shadow of unthinkable evils, Uri and Sorika face their deepest fears and discover that in the absence of light, love prevails.