After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.<br /><br />Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king&apos;s council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she&apos;ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. <br /><br />Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she&apos;s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it&apos;s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.<br /><br />Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.