Three hundred years have passed since the events of The Wishsong of Shannara. The totalitarian Federation now controls all of the Southlans; in the West, the Elves have vanished; in the East, the Dwarves are enslaved.

Par Ohmsford has retained some of the magical powers of his ancestors, although he does not fully understand the way they work. Travelling the Southlands with his brother, Coll, he is troubled by dreams of Allanon, the Druid whose fate has always seemed linked that of the Ohmsfords - and yet Par knows Allanon is dead. Almost captured by the deadly Seekers, who search out users of forbidden magic and attacked by a witch-woma, Par is saved by Cogline, another name from the Ohmsford past. Cogline tells Par of the Shadoweb, the greatest peril ever to threaten the Four Lands, and summons him to the Hadeshorn to meet the shade of Allanon. He then leaves to carry his message to the other Scions of Shannara: Wren, who lives in the Westland, and Walker Boh, in the East.

Thus begins a thrilling new episode in the bestselling Shannara series. Once again, Terry Brooks has written a magical, stirring fantasy of the Four Lands and the Ohmsford, descendants of kings.