All those years at the Arcane University, and Hettie still has no idea what's happening to her magic. All of a sudden she can't control it, and it's only getting worse. It starts with a clandestine interlude turning her lover into a chicken, and quickly devolves into accidental destruction of the potion shop where she's apprenticed.

After spending the better part of the century as a hermit stuck in his more human form, Gylharen, the Golden Dragon of Death's Maw, is ready to venture into the world again. He is compelled to search for the woman who sold him a defunct thieves trap spell, only to find her out of control and brimming with chaos magic. When her magic overloads her system he sees only one solution - to spirit her away to his castle in the mountains. After all, he is the only one who can help her, if only he could help himself. What sort of dragon can't take its true shape?

The two find themselves deeply entangled in each other, like there's something deep inside that draws them. They are kindred spirits, both damaged in their own ways. Together, they may just have to learn what it means to really live again.