The story opens with the mysterious and agonizing death of the king of Vendhya, orchestrated from afar by the Black Seers of Mount Yimsha using a dark necromantic ritual that draws the soul from the body. The king's sister, the Devi Yasmina, vows to destroy the wizards responsible, even if it means seeking out Conan, a formidable Cimmerian barbarian and chief of the fierce Afghuli hill tribes. When Conan crosses her path and abducts her to use as leverage for his captured men, a frantic chase begins through the treacherous passes of the Zhaibar. As rival political forces, including Turanian spies and local warlords, collide in the mountains, the machinations of the sorcerer Khemsa add another layer of betrayal and chaos.
Khemsa, seeking to break free from his masters using forbidden knowledge, unleashes ancient horrors before meeting a brutal end at the hands of the Black Circle. Meanwhile, Yasmina and Conan are forced to navigate hostile terrain, tribal rebellions, and the physical manifestations of dark magic. The narrative crescendos at the towering, inaccessible citadel of Yimsha, where Conan must confront the terrifying masters of illusion and sacrifice. Through sheer will, tactical ferocity, and a mysterious Stygian girdle, Conan breaches the stronghold of the wizards, shatters their crystal core, and slays the Master in a brutal confrontation. The conclusion sees the fragile alliance between the barbarian chief and the Vendhyan queen tested on the battlefield, where Kshatriya steel and hill-men fury ultimately crush the Turanian threat, leaving an unresolved tension of mutual respect and wild, untamed ambition.
