Twenty years after her fateful first voyage north, Laila is preparing for her campaign to become the next impératrice of Soleterea, contending with negative attitudes towards chaos magic and the demons who wield it. In the meantime, Darius has settled into his new position as the rex of Mortos, but his rule has not been without conflict and conspiracy, either.

When her mother suggests that Laila distinguish herself politically by lending a hand to the famine-stricken Mortesians, she finds herself once more crossing paths with her old lover and confronting the whirlwind of emotions that twenty years apart have done little to settle. Determined to put her feelings to one side, Laila throws herself headfirst into the viper pit of Mortesian court politics to try to win their favour. However, Darius has an allure of his own—one that is not quite so simple to resist.

The second instalment in the Essence of the Equinox trilogy continues on the trajectory of character-driven gaslamp fantasy with high emotional stakes and classical worldbuilding.