Meet the world's first detective. A dead warrior king frozen in winter ice. Six grieving sons, each with his own reason to kill. Two weary travelers caught up in a web of suspicion and deceit. In a time long before our own, wandering bard Talus and his companion Bran journey to the island realm of Creyak, where the king has been murdered. From clues scattered among the island's mysterious barrows and stone circles, they begin their search for his killer. Nobody is above suspicion, from the king's heir to the tribal shaman, from the woman steeped in herb-lore to the visiting warlord. And when death strikes again, Talus and Bran realize nothing is what it seems. Creyak is a place of secrets and spirits, mystery and myth. It will take a cleaver man indeed to unravel the truth. The kind of man this ancient world has not seen before.