Lady Doryssa Massey, cruelly murdered by the pirate Sullehman Saan, is laid to rest.
While Ser Almer Connington and the injured squire, Ammon Massey, stand their vigil over the bodies of Doryssa Massey and Mellony Fossoway, the Warden of Crackclaw Point, his wife and several of his officers come to pay their respects.
Sers Dagur Saltcliffe and Alyard Corbray, along with Dagur’s squire Ammon Massey, sneak aboard the Black Wind to rescue Dagur’s wife the lady Reyna Saltcliffe, and the ladies Mellony Fossoway and Katla Greyjoy – and then… run into complications.
Men of the Crackclaw Company meet with the pirate Sulleham Saan to discuss the ransoms of some noble ladies. Negotiations turn sour and one squire gets more than he bargained for.
Ser Almer Connington, Ser Jaesin Lannister, and several volunteers lead a surprise attack on a turncloak knight's keep. The Warden of Crackclaw Point's forces find themselves in a bloody battle, culminating in an unusual duel of honor between two old enemies.
In which the White Knight of the Kingsguard pays a visit to the Dark Griffin of Cape Wrath, on the Queen's business, and a hasty but audacious plan ensues.
The leaders of the Crackclaw Point expedition ( minus the Warden ) and the Warden's squire prepare to make landfall -- by having one last sparring session on deck.
Lady Andrya Tully and Ser Willard Ryger say their farewells on the eve of his departure for Crackclaw Point. As he leaves Andrya's sister, the Lady Jannia, arrives to chastise her for her "indecent" behaviour and they end up sharing their thoughts about the Starveling's hanging.
After nearly a year in captivity, the notorious outlaw captain Starion Flowers, called the Starveling, guilty of the foulest crimes, is hanged.
The missing members of the Kingswood expedition return to the Red Keep alive -- barely; a coveted prize is offered to a certain squire.
What starts as merely an observation of Ser Alyard’s riding at the quintain turns into a conversation about valour, honour, duty, and commitment.
Ammon Massey begins negotiating a marriage between his sister Doryssa and Galan Lannister.
The introduction of Victoria Reyne to the ladies Belissa Caron and Katla Greyjoy leads to a conversation amongst the triad about the delicate sensibilities of men, and turns to hunting and hawking with the arrival of Elroy Lychester.
The morning following Dagur Saltcliffe’s nameday celebration, Robett Meadows arrives in King’s Landing seeking vengeance for his son’s death and stops to rest in the Three Hills Inn -- bringing him face to face with his son’s killers and their friends.
The first meeting between Galwell Dalt, Lord Bailiff, and his niece Selara, recently returned to Sunspear, quickly takes a serious tone as Selara shares her latest idea with her uncle: the creation of a great library at Sunspear, a place of knowledge to rival the Citadel in Oldtown.