A missing prince...A mythical creature...An age-old mysteryLike his physician father, sixteen-year-old Garth Baxtor is gifted with the Touch. By laying his hands upon his patients, Garth can sense the illness that dwells within and promote healing. But illness is not all he can sense, as he learns when he accompanies his father to the underground mines known as the Veins to minister to the criminals condemned to labor there, beyond the hanging wall. Applying his hands to the wound of one prisoner known only as Lot No. 859, Garth is stunned to discover that the man is no common criminal....With the help of Ravenna, a witch from the marshes, and a mythical creature from the land of dreams, Garth sets out to solve a centuries-old mystery--a mystery that will pit one king against another and shake the Kingdom of Escator to its foundations.