Richard's father, George Cypher, was mysteriously killed in the beginning of the book. Because of this, Richard entered a state of sadness. When Richard finds out about an interesting vine left in a jar for him by his dead father, Richard decides to go into the forest to try to find the vine. This leads him to help a traveller escape from 4 men that are chasing her through the forest. The traveller is called Kahlan Amnell, and the people she is running from are called a quad. 