With his days in the Underdark far behind him, drow ranger Drizzt Do'Urden sets down roots in the windswept Ten-Towns of Icewind Dale. A cold and unforgiving place, Ten-Towns sits on the brink of a catastrophic war, threatened by the barbarian tribes of the north.

It's in the midst of battle that a young barbarian named Wulfgar is captured and made the ward of Bruenor, a grizzled dwarf leader and a companion to Drizzt. With Drizzt's help, Wulfgar will grow from a feral child to a man with the heart of a dwarf, the instincts of a warrior, and the soul of a hero. But it will take even more than that to defeat the corrupt wizard who wields the demonic power of Crenshinibon--the fabled Crystal Shard.

The Crystal Shard is the first book in the Icewind Dale Trilogy and the fourth book in the Legend of Drizzt series.