Continuing on from Temple of the Winds, the story begins after Richard and Kahla

n's wedding in the village of the Mud People. Strange deaths and the appearance
of a 'chicken-that-isn't-a-chicken' leaves Richard fearing the worst. Zedd confi
des in Richard that the chicken is a Lurk sent by Emperor Jagang's Sisters of th
e Dark. According to Zedd, the only way to destroy the Lurk is by smashing a bot
tle from the Wizard's Keep in Aydindril with the Sword of Truth.
However, Zedd is actually lying. He has surmised that a terrible magic known as
"the chimes" has been accidentally released by Kahlan in her attempt to cure Ric
hard. The chimes will eventually drain all magic from the world of the living, b
eginning with the additive magic. This would cause death to beings that require
magic and possibly cause the destruction of the world if additive magic were to
completely fail. Zedd determines that he must find a remedy, and wants Richard a
nd Kahlan safely out of the way while he does so.
Richard, Kahlan and Cara, unaware of the truth, set out to accomplish the task o
f breaking the bottle. Meanwhile, Zedd and Ann set off in separate ways. Zedd re
calls some lore that relates the chimes to Anderith and he travels there to atte
mpt to banish the chimes. Ann infiltrates the Imperial Order in order to save th
e Sisters of the Light under Jagang's enslavement. However, the Sisters of the L
ight betray Ann to Jagang because they fear the wrath of Emperor Jagang, causing
Ann to be captured.
Elsewhere, there are Machiavellian politics of Anderith to worry about. Both the
Anders, black-haired people who govern the city, and the Hakens, red-haired peo
ple under the boot of Ander oppression, occupy Anderith. From an early age, Hake
ns are kept under control and disrespected by the Anders and are taught that thi
s oppression is a necessity to protect the Hakens from their violent ancestral w
ays. Most Hakens have bought into this idea and willingly subject themselves to
the oppression.
Anderith is being wooed by the Imperial Order in the person of Stein, who person
ifies the savage ruthlessness of Jagang's empire. Stein offers double the going
rate for any goods that merchants, all of the Ander race, will sell to the Imper
ial Order. He also plots with the Minister of Culture, Bertrand Chanboor, to sur
render Anderith to the Order. They begin infiltrating Imperial Order soldiers in
to Anderith under the guise of Special Anderian Troops.
Dalton Campbell, aide to the Minister of Culture, has a hand in most events with
in the Anderith nation. He uses his connections, along with his squad of messeng
ers, to accomplish underhanded tasks to ensure that the Minister will ascend to
the chair of Sovereign (a religious position similar to the real world pope) whe
n the present one passes on. Dalton treasures his wife Teresa above all else.
A kitchen scullion, Fitch, is recruited into the messenger corps by Dalton. Thou
gh he has conflicting goals and values, Fitch's gratitude towards Dalton results
in blind obedience and he smothers his conscience to accomplish Dalton's biddin
g. Ultimately, Dalton betrays Fitch, who is forced to flee. Fitch determines to
redeem himself by becoming the Seeker of Truth, a longtime fantasy of his. The f
irst step to becoming Seeker is to obtain the Sword of Truth.
The Anderith Army is seriously under-trained and little more than children. They
guard the Dominie Dirtch, a defensive line of giant bell-shaped structures, see
mingly made from a solid piece of dark-veined stone, which kill anything in fron
t of them when struck.
Elsewhere, Richard realizes the chimes are, in fact, loose. Because of this, he
sends Cara to Aydindril to retrieve the Sword of Truth while he, Kahlan and Du C
haillu, about to deliver her child, head to Anderith to banish the chimes. Richa
rd also deduces that the army of the Imperial Order is marching on Anderith. If
the Imperial Order conquers Anderith, it will be a continuing imminent threat to
the rest of the midlands. Arriving in Anderith first, Zedd attempts to banish t
he chimes by offering them his soul. This is the cause of the chimes' presence:
they don't have souls, and when Kahlan summoned them she inadvertently promised
them Richard's soul. However, it is not Zedd's soul the chimes want. When Zedd's
attempt fails, he undergoes a transformation, becoming a raven.
Richard and Kahlan arrive in Anderith and set out to look for the chimes, but th
ey also work on joining Anderith with the D'Haran Empire. Word spreads and a vot
e is taken. While Richard makes a good plea to the people of Anderith, Dalton Ca
mpbell's interference sways the vote, leaving Richard defeated. At the same time
, Kahlan struggles with the knowledge that she is with child, and the trouble th
at will come because of it.
Meanwhile, Ann finds the captive Sisters of the Light and persuades them to come
with her. Since magic is failing, Jagang's abilities as a Dream Walker are null
, and Ann informs the Sisters of a bond to Richard, the Lord Rahl, that can keep
them safe from the Dream Walker. However, the Sisters, fearful of retribution b
y Jagang, betray Ann to the Imperial Order. She is left in her tent by herself w
hen Sister Alessandra, a Sister of the Dark, begins visiting her and bringing he
r food. She attempts to sway Alessandra, at first to no avail but with success i
n the end.
Dalton Campbell, along with help from a Sister of the Dark, sets a group of his
messengers on Kahlan when she is off by herself pondering on whether or not to k
eep Richard's child. She is beaten nearly to death, but she is saved by Richard,
who at first doesn't recognize her. When he finally does however, he realizes t
hat he will be unable to heal her unless he manages to banish the chimes first.
Cara almost obtains the Sword of Truth, but is beaten to it by Fitch and his fri
end, Morley. A combination of sheer dumb luck and the fact that the Chimes have
deactivated the Wizards' Keep defenses and killed many of its guards allow Fitch
and his accomplice to easily obtain the Sword. Cara gives chase and kills the f
riend before chasing Fitch back to Anderith. When she catches him at the Dominie
Dirtch, she loses the sword when Imperial Order scouts attack. The Order's sold
iers collect the sword as a prize for Stein to present to Emperor Jagang.
Around this time, Dalton Campbell manages to murder the Sovereign, instead of wa
iting for the feeble figurehead to pass naturally. This immediately pushes Bertr
and Chanboor to the rank of Sovereign. The empowered Chanboor consummates his pr
omotion by sleeping with Dalton's wife, Teresa. Dalton pretends not to be distur
bed by this betrayal and even seemingly "joins" the web of infidelity by sleepin
g with both Teresa and Chanboor's wife in turn. In reality, however, Campbell is
livid and even kills the Imperial Order emissary, Stein (who had "shared" Teres
a with Chanboor), gaining possession of the Sword of Truth in turn.
Having studied the actions of Joseph Ander, the ancient founder of Anderith, Ric
hard comes to realize that the chimes and the Dominie Dirtch are connected. More
specifically, he comes to understand that Joseph Ander enslaved the Chimes usin
g them to power the Dominie Dirtch. Richard finally comes to understand that by
using art as a form of intent, he can alter the Grace and create a new pathway f
or magic. Thus Richard counters the magic Ander used to enslave the Chimes and c
alls them forth giving the chimes a choice: His soul (which they were promised b
y Kahlan) or revenge on the spirit of Ander for enslaving them. The chimes choos
e vengeance, taking Ander to the underworld. Once he is successful in banishing
the chimes, Richard sets off to heal Kahlan but is stopped by Du Chaillu, just h
aving given birth, who tells him that his healing powers would kill her due to a
hidden subtractive magic spell that has been placed within her.
Alessandra eventually frees Ann, reverts her faith back to the Creator and gives
her oath to Richard. The pair soon sets off out of Anderith. When Zedd's soul i
s returned to his body with the banishment of the chimes, he also departs. Richa
rd decides to leave for Westland, where he plans to let Kahlan recover from her
wounds naturally. Dalton Campbell sees them off with his apologies and informs R
ichard that Campbell, Chanboor, and both of their wives have become stricken wit
h an "unfortunate", incurable venereal disease and have doomed themselves to a s
low, agonizing demise. He returns the Sword of Truth to Richard before they set
off. Richard claims he will wait in Westland until the people of the world can p
rove to him that they truly desire freedom. As they depart, they pass a group of
people set to welcome the Order, planning to sway them with peaceful protest. A
s they leave, the Order begins to sack the city, and the screams of the women be
ing forced into sexual slavery follows them into the night.