Author Terry Goodkind dedicates the second installment of The Sword of Truth’s Chainfire trilogy and the penultimate entry in its plot arc to Phil and Debra Pizzolato, for reminding him of the value of life, and proceeds with the philosophy that those who hate betray themselves. The action opens with Kahlan at the White Horse Inn, the captive of Sisters of the Dark, responsible for the Chainfire spell that rid all but Richard Rahl of the memory of the Mother Confessor, who seek their colleague Tovi, gone for Caska. Meanwhile, Nicci and Richard’s friends seek to reverse the amnesiac sorcery.
Emperor Jagang, leader of the Imperial Order, in the meanwhile, seeks the power of the boxes of Orden and the secret of The Book of Counted Shadows, warring with Kahlan’s homeland of Galea. Richard acknowledges that to fight the Order, with its massive forces, would be futile even with the Sword of Truth he gave to Shota in exchange for information about Chainfire, and seriously considers surrendering the D’Haran Empire to Jagang. The Seeker of Truth hears stories about the ancient war wizard Baraccus, which he hopes may help with fighting Jagang.
Chase also returns from many books prior, attacked by Samuel with the Sword of Truth, his adoptive daughter Rachel further kidnapped by old antagonists. Richard himself takes several symbolic tests, such as one with the transportive sliph, and meets the night wisps with whom he met in early books of the franchise. The book ends with Richard interested in the Imperial Order’s favorite sport Ja’La dh Jin, or “the game of life,” and accounts for another satisfying entry in the series, although Goodkind’s editor obviously failed at their job.
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