An Enemy, Piers Ashcote,  is wanted in Navarene (to the north) for a treasonous act, trying to get the secret of why Navarene is more prosperous than bordering countries, and a Friend, Gunnora Pickerly, turns up as a bounty hunter ready to bring him in alive. The kingdom of Thaemor refuses to extradite him, so the capture and retrieval has to evade local law enforcement.