During a protracted civil war that pitted the North against the South, the outnumbered Northerners used dark magic to create monsterous super-soldiers called Incarnates. Now that the war has ended, those Sacred Beasts must learn to make their way in a peaceful society, or face death at the hands of a Beast Hunter. Nancy Schaal Bancroft, the daughter of an Incarnate, turns to hunting the hunter herself. But once she catches up with her quarry, she discovers hard truths about the lives of these Sacred Beasts.
Schaal travels with Liza and Coup de Grace, as she searches for the missing Hank. But along the journey, Major Claude announces that Hank is the next target for extermination by his corps. Meanwhile, Hank is locked in a battle to the death with his former subordinate, the Incarnate Garmr, who urges Hank to give up his human form entirely so they can fight each other as true Beasts…