The Seven Cities Rebellion has been crushed. One last rebel force remains, holed up in the city of Y"Ghatan under the fanatical command of Leoman of the Flails. The prospect of laying siege to this ancient fortress makes the battle - weary Malaz 14th Army uneasy. For it was here that the Empire"s greatest champion was slain and a tide of Malazan blood spilled. It is a place of foreboding, its smell is of death. Yet this is but a sideshow. Agents of a far greater conflict have made their opening moves. The Crippled God has been granted a place in the pantheon and a schism threatens. Sides must be chosen. But whatever each god decides, the rules have changed - irrevocably, terrifyingly - and the first blood to be drawn will be in the mortal world...