The conclusion of The Astreya Trilogy. Lindey takes Astreya, Cam, Damon, and Arneb to Matris, only to discover that much has changed since she left home. Suspicion and distrust surround them. Astreya and Lindey begin to resolve their difficulties, but a gossipy old man on a horse misrepresents the past, and all five must flee aboard Arneb's boat. Once outside the shelter of the hills surrounding Matris, the group discovers that the Men of the Sea are searching for their navigation stones, and they think the Village where Astreya was born has them. Astreya must arrive in time to avert a massacre. When the great black ship reaches the headlands of the fjord, Astreya must confront the worst and the best aspects of his inheritance before he can unravel his past and lift The Wanderer's Curse.