Synopsis: From the flaps of the Del Rey first edition dust jacket: The River flowed from the mountains into the distant sea, and everywhere he touched, he ruled. Powerful and hungry, he had scoured every rival godling from the land. But the world beyond the River's reach was a riot of gods and ghosts and other daemons, large and small. Strange spirits jostled and contended with each other, and with the humans who shared their range. Into this rich and dangerously open land came a surprising refugee: Hezhi, the River's own daughter. When the magic that was her heritage awakened in her, back in the glittering palace of imperial Nhol, Hezhi fled for her life. With Perkar, a youth in search of honor, and loyal Tsem, her half-Giant bodyguard, she sought refuge from the barbarian Mang. She had hoped for the freedom to build a life of her own, but in these demon-haunted hinterlands, every bubbling spring, crevasse, and hillock boasted some spirit. Until she learned to wield the powers of her birthright, she would be vulnerable to any arcane attack. Hezhi's sanity - and her very soul - would be at risk. Meanwhile, grisly danger followed her from the world she thought she had escaped. The River bent all his might and slumbrous cunning o the task of finding his wayward child. From the depth of his yearning, the River plotted to take Nezhi alive. For Perkar, her champion, he had no such benign end in view... Only the Blackgod saw a way for Hezhi and Perkar to defeat the River, once and for all. But he was a creature of guile and limitless duplicity; to trust him might be the most perilous move they could make. Perkar knew that better than anyone else - at least anyone still alive...