The Four Sisters, evil creations of the Shadow Lord, are poisoning Deltora and starving its people. Lief, Barda and Jasmine have found and destroyed the first of the Sisters. Now they must find the second, hidden within the mountains that border the Shadowlands itself. And they know that only the Dragon of the Emerald can help them. The Shadow Lord is now aware of their quest. Deep in the Shadowlands, he plots their destruction. Hidden enemies and trickery await as the companions travel towards the Sister of the North and its terrible guardian, the dread place called Shadowgate.