De Sardet, a noble of the Merchant Congregation, prepares to travel to the newly-settled island of Teer Fradee to serve as Legate to Prince Constantin d'Orsay, De Sardet's cousin and the newly-appointed governor of New Serene, the Congregation's capital on the island. The Congregation hopes that the exotic environment of Teer Fradee will yield a cure for the malichor, a deadly plague spreading on the continent.

The group arrive on Teer Fradee and De Sardet is quickly dispatched to establish diplomatic relations with the island natives and two neighboring countries with a presence on the island. De Sardet gains several new allies and learns of the doneigada, native islanders with a supernatural bond to the earth that grants them mystical abilities. De Sardet's investigations into the malichor reveal that the natives worship a being known as "en on mil frichtimen" which has a connection to the island. De Sardet believes en on mil frichtimen to be real, and capable of curing the malichor with its power, and begins seeking a way to speak with it.