The trilogy readers are calling "incredibly creative" and "hard to put down" starts here. While using a dangerous shortcut outside of the city, young temple assistant Arol is attacked by a mountain lion - then narrowly escapes when time itself appears to freeze. Arol is troubled that the scriptures say nothing of this phenomenon. He confides in his friend Zorn, who eventually leads him to Bernarro, an enigmatic "wizard" who is, in fact, anything but. Using a scientific sensibility centuries ahead of his time, Bernarro opens Arol's mind to the idea that there's more to reality - and less to the gods - than the temple teaches. Arol's enlightenment may be short-lived, however, if he cannot survive the earthly dangers menacing his homeland of Gennebar. A brutal occupying army, corruption in the temple, heretics stirring up religious strife, and foretellings of natural disasters all threaten to tear Gennebar apart. As Arol struggles to come to terms with his new understanding of the world, he must make decisions that will determine not only his own future, but the fate of his people as well.
