Cerys inherits her uncle's Shadowmoor home and begins exchanging enchanted letters with Rhain in Lorwyn. Their shared interest in plants becomes affection before either knows the other's appearance. Rhain hides the curse that is hardening his body and heart; Cerys assumes there will always be another letter.
A hidden sprig of dawnglove reveals that her uncle once considered breaking elven law to save Rhain. Cerys makes the choice he could not finish. She crosses the aurora, feeds Rhain the cure and arrives with a damaged reliquary. Lorwyn's influence twists her speech into cruelty even while her actions remain devoted.
Rhain looks beyond the insults to the person who crossed a world for him. Restored by the flower, he carries Cerys back toward Shadowmoor before the transformation consumes her. Their first meeting is not the uncomplicated reward promised by romance. It proves instead that love can recognise intention while identity is under assault.