An insane goddess schemes to drain a mouthy little girl of her enormous power, and the sorcerer Bib abandons his not-so-comfortable retirement to protect her. They flee to find safety, with the untrained girl throwing off random, lethal magic, and Bib training her to avoid mishaps such as turning people into sand. But safety keeps getting farther away, not closer. Tragically deranged sorcerers destroy cities in their path, a crusade of murderous zealots pursues Bib, the mad goddess makes appalling overtures to the girl, and mystical thugs embroil them in the gods' bloody errands. As paths of escape grow narrower, Bib must decide what he's willing to sacrifice to succeed in saving the girl-and what he can bear to do if he fails.