"...you are one of the most complicated people I know..."

Sent as a hostage to an alien land to defuse the threat from that land's ruler, Prince Steffan of Ras longs to return home where his soul truly dwells. He develops an unexpected friendship with the son of his father's enemy, gains the heart and loyalty of a war-prize stallion belonging to his enemy's queen, and receives a new name. They call him Shadow.

Forced into a marriage he does not want, Steffan returns to Ras with an unwanted wife who bears him a daughter he will never know and casts a deathbed curse on the Neimanni line. He faces a power struggle with his younger brother for the throne in defense of his heritage and his legacy. There is a prophecy, that he will one day have a son who could lead Ras into a bright new day?but he fears that, proud and passionate, brilliant and flawed he might remain... the Shadow Before the Dawn.