After the murder of his father, and a chance encounter with a mysterious Confessor named Kahlan, Richard Cypher learns of an ancient prophecy that has named him the first true Seeker in over a millennium. Along with an old wizard named Zedd, Richard and Kahlan must stop the ruthless tyrant Darken Rahl from unleashing an ancient evil.

Aided by the wisdom of wizards, Richard pursues Fane in the hope of recovering the Book of Counted Shadows.

When Chase escapes a D'Harens labor camp, he finds Richard and Kahlan and tells them about the Gar invasion problems with the boundary open. The three return to Hartland but find that it is no longer the same place that Richard grew up in.

Richard, Kahlan and Chase are headed to the D'haran fortress where Chase's family is kept prisoner, and Darken Rahl's archwizard is conducting magical experiments on them. As they manage to infiltrate the fortress the Seeker comes face to face with his sinister opponent for the first time, while a terrible, unexpected force is unleashed.