When a young dwarf named Yorvig travels to a mining claim in the wilds of the Red Ridges, he learns by hard experience that his fellow prospectors are more focused on ore than survival. Thinking he alone can hold disaster at bay, Yorvig plots his way to becoming captain of the mine. He only expected to lead in a fight against starvation, but far greater danger arrives in forms both fair and foul. The mine grows beyond what they ever imagined, and while Yorvig's authority must grow with it, the challenges of love and loyalty will not make it easy—nor will the old foe who is determined to drive their folk from the Red Ridges for good.