Picking up with the conclusion of the "Blood of Amber" cliffhanger, Merle Corey seeks escape from the Shadow world of Alice in Wonderland. As the son of the great Prince Corwin of Amber, Merle is a member of a huge warring royal family with the genetic ability to move through 'shadow' worlds (of which our own is one). Merle tries to find the path back to Amber, the original world, to question unknown enemies and to discover the influence of the Courts of Chaos on his predicaments.