Kevin J. Wilson

When a band of freedom fighters, following a shadowy figure known only as the Black Wolf, ambush and kill a group of armed men collecting taxes, Xerxes, the cold-blooded ruler of Argos, threatens the villagers with death unless they betray the identity of the rebel leader in their midst. A dozen courageous citizens step forward claiming to be the infamous Black Wolf, and Xerxes angrily orders his guards to arrest them all. Xena arrives a short time later, just in time to witness her old friend, Hermia, being abused by Xerxes’ guards when she begs to see her imprisoned daughter, Flora. After Xena teaches the guards some manners, Hermia tells her that Flora has fallen madly in love with one of the Black Wolves, and is now in prison for having taken up their cause to overthrow Xerxes. Xena vows to come up with a plan to rescue the young woman.

Evil Queen Milena is in possession of the third and final Box of Orden. To prevent the box from falling into the hands of Darken Rahl and giving him the ultimate power he so desperately craves, Zedd disguises himself as an entertainer in order to infiltrate Milena's castle. With the help of a little slave girl named Rachel, Zedd plots to replace the coveted box with a fake. Meanwhile, Richard and Kahlan learn that Darken Rahl intends to personally retrieve the Box of Orden from the Queen.

Darken Rahl is determined to have his personal wizard, Giller, harness a powerful magical force that will help Rahl enslave the world. But Richard's attempts to rescue his friends from the sadistic wizard's deadly experiments send him into his first explosive face-to-face confrontation with the evil Rahl.

Darken Rahl and his Mord'Sith find Richard and Kahlan just as they are preparing to unleash the power of Orden, which would destroy the sinister tyrant once and for all. The resulting explosion of power consumes the Seeker, leaving Kahlan in the clutches of Rahl.

Darken Rahl enlists the help of Denna, a dangerous Mord Sith, to locate the Third Box of Orden and give him the final key to world domination. Meanwhile, Richard's quest to thwart Rahl's evil plan leads to a startling revelation about his friend, Zedd.