This is the first book in a fantastic fantasy series centering around Nightrunners, Seregil and Alec. At the start of the series, Alec is very much the young naive protege, and Seregil, is much more experienced, not to mention secretive. Their friendship develops quickly. There are many secondary characters introduced in this book that continue to show up throughout the series, some I had fond memories of, some it took a while for me to warm up to, and a few I never did grow to care for, but all of them were well rounded, three dimensional characters. 
 This first volume takes you from Alec and Seregil's first meeting in a dungeon in the Northlands, thru Alec's training to becomes a proper Spy, to Alec and Seregil's part in trying to stop a plot to overthrow the Skalan Queen. 
 For those who haven't read the series before, this particular book should be read in conjunction with Book 2, Stalking DarknessStalking Darkness, it ends with 'To be Continued' and there are several unfinished story threads that will not be tied up until that book.