"As I became a creature of the empty tunnels, survival became easier and more difficult all at once. I gained in the physical skills and experience necessary to live on. I could defeat almost anything that wandered into my chosen domain. It did not take me long, however, to discover one nemesis that I could neither defeat nor flee. It followed me wherever I went-indeed, the farther I ran, the more it closed in around me. My enemy was solitude, the interminable, incessant silence of hushed corridors. " -Drizzt Do'Urden

The book picks up where Homeland finished. Drizzt Do'Urden has fled his birth city of Menzoberranzan, home to many drow elves in the Underdark, hoping to escape the clutches of his wrathful mother, Matron Malice.

For ten years, Drizzt survives the dangerous wilds of the Underdark, with only Guenhwyvar (a magical black panther) as his companion. However, as he is constantly on edge, and has no social interaction, his sense of self, of identity, slowly regresses into "the hunter" - a primitive being who, while deadly, reacts out of survival instincts only. Recognizing the dangers to his sanity, Drizzt seeks out some svirneblin (deep gnomes) and throws himself at their mercy, in the hopes of finding sanctuary within their city. It is here that his attempts at releasing a deep gnome from a drow patrol many years ago will hopefully pay dividends...