Gauthak wakes on a cobblestone shore. He is, for the first time in two decades, free from enslavement. The fearsome giants pursuing him are incessant trackers, and they will hunt him to the edges of the known world. His freedom is fleeting. A powerful Soulstone-a sacred artifact-was lost when giants destroyed Gauthak's village and enslaved his people. His new life's purpose is to return to the mountains and retrieve it. He and his companion, a loyal Night Jay, wander to the gates of a stone-walled city. Once inside, Gauthak receives aid from a woman sympathetic to his struggles. He befriends two elixir merchants and a band of engineers who've travelled from Himinbjorg to assess a mining tunnel cave-in. These engineers graciously offer him passage into the mountains after they complete their business in the city. He agrees to venture with them, desperate for their means of travel. He is unwillingly pulled into his companions' conflicts, quickly discovering they are not whom they claim to be. They have kept truths from him. Truths that start to unravel, threatening all of their lives. Plagued with haunting memories, trauma, and deception, Gauthak struggles to walk a righteous path home. The giants are on his heels. Time is against him. He hopes his companions are not.