The events center on the period when the heroine slipped into the enormous city of the usurper, and took a job as a yam curler in the palace. The unnamed girl's foe, the usurper, is also never given a proper name: "His face was scarred and twisted, his towering form draped in black robes that flew in his wake like the wings of a crow that dies in midair and cartwheels to the ground.
The events revolve around the time when the heroine entered the vast city of the usurper, taking a job as a yam curler in the palace. The unnamed girl's adversary, the usurper, is never given a proper name: "His face was scarred and distorted, his towering form cloaked in black robes that billowed behind him like the wings of a crow that falls from the sky and somersaults to the ground.