Rand althor, the Dragon Reborn, has conquered the city of Illian, struck down Sammael the Forsaken and shattered the armies of the invading Seanchan. Nynaeve, Aviendha and Elayne have broken the Dark Ones hold on the worlds weather and are poised to retake the throne of Andor. And Egwene alvere, leader of the exiled Aes Sedai, marches her army towards the White Tower. But Rand and the Ashaman that follow him are slowly being corrupted by the madness that comes to the male wielders of the One Power. If they cannot remove the Dark Ones taint from the True Source then none will survive to fight the Last Battle against the Shadow. And as Rand struggles to maintain his sanity the Seanchan launch their counter-strike.