Lord Sunderland wants this gypsy witch wiped from his thoughts. His adviser offers a more covert course of action. Four mercenaries should be sent, a group able to travel far more quietly than the Lord's Guard and far easier to wash one's hands of. A swordsman, an archer, a thief and wild a barbarian. The four's differences are sure to cause problems. Amadielle is a mere gypsy midwife. Stories abound about her strange rapport with the Wood and its creatures, and Amadielle has always known her life would follow no natural course. Can the mercenaries be trusted to hold true to the course set out for them. The meeting of these individuals will bring them all to their own destinies.