The unthinkable has been accomplished. The Lord Ruler has been defeated—the one who claimed to be God incarnate and violently governed the globe for a thousand years. But Kelsier, the hero who oversaw that triumph, is no longer alive, and the enormous burden of constructing a new world has been passed down to his young protégé, Vin, the former street urchin who is now the most powerful Mistborn in the kingdom, and the idealistic young nobleman she adores.
She is now revered by a blossoming new cult as Kelsier's protégé and Lord Ruler slayer, a distinction that makes her extremely uncomfortable. Worryingly, the mists have begun to behave strangely since the Lord Ruler's death, and they appear to harbor a strange vaporous monster that stalks her.
Vin's Mistborn skills may be kept sharp by stopping assassins, but that's the least of her troubles. Luthadel, the old empire's main city, cannot run itself, and Vin and the other members of Kelsier's crew, who led the revolution, must master a new set of practical and political skills to assist. It's not going to get any easier with three armies battling for control of the city, one of which is made up of fearsome giants, and no evidence of the Lord Ruler's hidden stash of atium, the rarest and most powerful allomantic metal.
When the siege of Luthadel deepens, an ancient legend appears to provide a ray of hope. But, even if it does exist, no one knows where to discover it or what kind of power it bestows.