Lord and Lady of Gray Oak

Nessa and Eirle have just tied the knot, but his brother pulls them away for a mission. They must travel to a distant land to secure grain for the coming winter, because the weather mages have predicted a foul season ahead. They travel to Allanor, a land where women are treated as second-class citizens. Sara, Nessa's older sister, joins them for the quest. On their journey, Eirle reveals that Allanor is in fact the country of his birth, and his mother was a prostitute in its largest port city.

None of them expects to become embroiled in a plot of attempted murder. The target: Eirle. What secret is the court hiding? Who wants Eirle dead? And will Nessa and Eirle ever return to their new home, Gray Oak Keep?