Gabrielle is still harboring a sinister secret. Xena, harboring a secret of her own, is still haunted by the incidents that nearly drove them apart. As they make their way on a lonely stretch of dirt road, they encounter a devastating scene: a burned-out village of nomadic people and all have been slaughtered. Racing to confront the ones responsible, Xena and Gabrielle realize that a popular city, packed with festival goers, is next in line for destruction. That includes a certain traveling salesman and good friend of the two, Salmoneus, who attends the festival every year.

A strange and powerful warlord, bent on destroying everything in his path, is their foe. When Xena leaves to meet the warlord face to face, Gabrielle is left to defend a vulnerable village on her own.

Where this encounter will lead them, neither of them can foresee. But, the truth will be revealed in a reformulating of the warlord's plans. Doorways will be opened. Time will become skewed. And what they once thought of the world around them will change forever.