Richard and Berdine continue to work on the translation of the 'Journal of Kolo'. In the midst of all these activities, a Sister of the Dark travels through Aydindril spreading a magical plague. In a search for a cure, Richard travels to the First Wizard's Enclave. To save the people of the Midlands from the plague, Kahlan is told again and again by prophecy and the ancestor spirits of the Mud People that she must betray Richard to allow him to enter the Temple of the Winds, and that Richard must marry Nadine, or everyone in the New World will die of the plague. Even confronting the witch Shota, who sent Nadine to the Palace, Shota says that it was out of pity for Richard, that Nadine was the only other woman he ever even remotely cared for, and that the prophecy is unstoppable.