The second book in the Phoenix Lords series, focusing on the fast and deadly female warrior, Jain Zar, first exarch of the Howling Banshees. The enigmatic eldar are one of the many intelligent races that battle humankind for control of the stars. Though few in number, they are an ancient race, and their mode of war blends spirituality with a unique mastery of technology. In times of need, the entire eldar race will rouse to war led by terrifying, almost mythological figures – the phoenix lords. Each different in his or her own way, these immortal beings embody the warrior nature of the eldar. Jain Zar – the Storm of Silence – was the first phoenix lord to be recruited by Asurmen, and would prove a swift and deadly fighter, able to harness the rage of her scream to slaughter any who dare oppose her.

The story of Asurmen, the Hand of Asuryan, the first and greatest of the eldar Phoenix Lords. The Phoenix Lords are demigods of battle, warriors whose legends span the stars. They are embodiments of the warrior nature of the eldar, and each walks his own path. The first, and greatest, is Asurmen, the Hand of Asuryan. Since he led his people from destruction at the time of the Fall, he has guided his children, the Dire Avengers, in defending the remnants of the eldar as they plan their rise back to galactic dominance. A superlative warrior and peerless leader, Asurmen is one of the greatest hopes of the eldar race.

"The hunters have become the hunted. The Night Lords flee to the dark fringes of the Imperioum to escape their relentless puruers--the eldar of Craftworld Ulthwe. Their flight takes them to the carrion world of Tsagualsa, where their primarch died and their Legion was broken. There, history will repeat itself as a deadly assassin stalks the shadows, and the Night Lords are drawn into a battle they are destined to lose"--P. [4] of cover.

When the long-lost craftworld Ziasuthra reappears, Iyanna Arienal and Yvraine of the Ynnari lead an expedition to it in hope of retrieving the last cronesword. Still reeling from the advent of the Great Rift and the ravages of the tyranids, the aeldari inhabitants of Iyanden are shocked when they receive a message from a long-lost craftworld. Missing for millennia, the craftworld of Ziasuthra has suddenly reappeared from its sanctuary in the warp, and its denizens wish to make contact. Led by the Spiritseer Iyanna and Yvraine, the Emissary of Ynnead, a small force of craftworld aeldari head to Ziasuthra to open negotiations with their brethren. Behind their surface desire to help, however, Iyanna and Yvraine have a stronger motive: they are seeking the final cronesword, which could lie hidden behind ancient web portal on this craftworld. But how co-operative will the mysterious Ziasuthrans prove to be, or do they too have their own agenda?

Gripping sci-fi action in this premium Warhammer 40,000 novel Long ago defiled by the Imperium of Man, the eldar maiden world of Dûriel was once a glittering jewel in the crown of the Valedor System. As the tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan sweep through the sector consuming everything in their path, wayward Prince Yriel of Iyanden discovers that the farseers have inadvertently brought a greater threat to bear – a fragment of Hive Fleet Kraken, hurled into the warp in order to save the craftworld, has returned. The tyranid fleets cannot be allowed to combine, or their genetic legacies will merge into something even more terrible. Alongside allied forces from Craftworld Biel-Tan and even the dark eldar of Commorragh, Yriel has no choice but to fight on to the bitter end...

As the crusade reaches its apex, Lord Solar Macharius is drawn by a prophecy to the world of Demetrius in search of an ancient artefact - the Fist of Demetrius. Rumours and legends abound of the artefact's providence as a weapon of a primarch, the lords of Horus Heresy. With it, Macharius believes his success and victory is assured but others crave this potent weapon, and the dark eldar will do anything to obtain it.

The Fabius Bile triology comes to a close in this action packed novel. In the centuries since his return from Commorragh, Fabius Bile has distanced himself from the affairs of friend and foe, content only to oversee the cruel evolution of his New Men. But when his creations are threatened by the monstrous haemonculi of the Thirteen Scars, the Manflayer is forced to seek out new allies and old enemies alike in an effort to preserve all that he has built. Homo Novus must survive… even if Fabius Bile must die to ensure it.