Cali has escaped the Screaming Pit and fled across the deserts of Demhe. Seeking to finally bring her to justice, Alan, LeBarron, Cassilda, Petruccio, and Roland pursue, but soon heroes and villains alike are embroiled in the power of the dreaming desert.

Fantasies and nightmares come to life, traumas and memories resurface in the form of phantom eidolons, and each soul finds themself trapped in a dream without solution.

Meanwhile, Haercus, unleashed from the prison of his armour, roams the treacherous sands, seeking out the talisman that once belonged to him.

Only in discovering the secret of the desert can Alan and his companions escape Demhe's clutches and find Cali. But soon they will discover that unearthing Demhe's secret will bring to light a truth about one of their own, which will shake the very foundations of Carcosa itself...