Niall, now ruler of the spider city, is horrified by a brutal murder that threatens the delicate relationship between the spiders and humans who share the city. Niall uses his psychic ability to track down the killers, but is thwarted in his effort to solve the crime as each conspirator mysteriously dies.

The most obvious clues lead to a being Niall has only seen in a dream: The Magician.

In his quest to find the Magician, Niall makes shocking discoveries about both his own people and the rapidly evolving spiders, whose desire for peace forced them to conquer and forge an empire with the labor of human slaves.