Tower of Dawn (2017) is a young adult fantasy by Sarah J. Maas that follows Chaol Westfall, a soldier experiencing partial paralysis due to a severe injury sustained in battle against the former tyrannical King of Adarlan, who journeys to the Southern Continent in search of the famous healers of the Torre Cesme. In the capital city of Antica, Chaol must face both external and internal demons to heal from his debilitating injuries and attempt to secure military support for his home continent against the evil Valg—specifically King Erawan, who plots to have his forces invade and conquer their world. However, he does not anticipate falling in love with Yrene Towers, the healer from the Southern Continent tasked with guiding his journey to recovery. Tower of Dawn is the sixth installment in the Throne of Glass series.

Sarah J. Maas is a fantasy romance author within the young adult and new adult categories whose many works have become #1 New York Times bestsellers. Following her debut series, Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas published two additional series: A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) and Crescent City (2020).

This guide refers to the 2023 hardback edition published by Bloomsbury USA.

Content Warning: The source material includes discussions of trauma, violence, and suicide.

Plot Summary

Tower of Dawn takes place on the Southern Continent. Parasitic demons called the Valg, led by Duke Perrington—an Adarlan man possessed by the Valg King, Erawan—have infested the Northern Continent. Perrington amasses his armies to defeat the great powers of Erilea—Aelin Galathynius, heir of Terrasen, and Dorian Havilliard, King of Adarlan—so that he may conquer their world.

Chaol Westfall, the newly appointed Hand to King Dorian, travels to the Southern Continent alongside his girlfriend, Nesryn Faliq, the newly appointed Captain of the Guard. Their mission is twofold: to seek healing for Chaol, who is paralyzed from the waist down due to injuries sustained by a Valg attack, and to secure an alliance with the Khaganate, a powerful empire that might provide military aid in the battle against Erawan.

The Khagan’s empire is ruled by a powerful family with the Khagan at its head and his several children vying for his favor in hopes of being named heir to the throne. Upon their arrival, Chaol and Nesryn are introduced to the Khagan’s children: Hasar, a sharp-tongued and cunning princess who controls the armadas; Sartaq, the commander of the rukhin, bird-riding warriors; Kashin, the leader of the foot soldiers and horse-lord cavalry; Arghun, the political trade ambassador and Prince of Spies; and Duva, the Khagan’s silent and reserved, pregnant daughter. They learn that the youngest daughter, Tumelun, recently died by suicide after jumping from her balcony.

While the Khagan only agrees to consider aiding them in the war, he allows Chaol and Nesryn to stay while the magical healers of the Torre Cesme institution help Chaol. A gifted healer named Yrene Towers—the rumored heir to the Healer on High, Hafiza—is assigned to Chaol. However, she harbors negative feelings toward Chaol and his association with the Adarlan guard, whom she blames for her mother’s death. Yrene begins working on Chaol’s injuries, but the process is slow and painful and requires just as much emotional and psychological healing as physical. Meanwhile, Nesryn reconnects with her aunt and uncle in the capital city of Antica and becomes close with Sartaq, who invites her to join him on an expedition to the Tavan Mountains, where the rukhin reside. They hope to uncover more information about the Valg, who is rumored to have been on the Southern Continent long ago. Nesryn and Chaol’s relationship becomes distant as they find deeper connections with Yrene and Sartaq.

Throughout their sessions, Yrene discovers that a dark force feeds on Chaol’s emotional and psychological wounds. Upon realizing Chaol’s anger, guilt, and self-loathing are allowing the darkness to fester, they begin to confront these feelings, which leads to Chaol’s slow recovery. Chaol regains movement of his toes, feet, and then up to his knees. Meanwhile, a malicious presence stalks Yrene in the Torre and around the palace, which Chaol believes is Valg. It kills a healer who looks like Yrene and steals the books and scrolls she collects to research the Valg from the Torre library.

In the mountains with the rukhin, Nesryn meets a merchant and shapeshifter from the Northern Continent named Falkan, who she believes might be Lysandra’s uncle. Nesryn and Sartaq’s search for answers on the Valg, leading them to discover the kharankui—Valg spiders who are handmaidens to the Queen of the Valg, Maeve. When captured by the kharankui, Nesryn and Sartaq are told Maeve’s backstory. She married Orcus but sought more and used her dark magic to travel through gateways to other worlds. She eventually found their world, where she used her magic to break into the minds of the Fae and write herself into their history as a third Fae Queen in the kingdom of Doranelle. She’s since taken the kharankui with guarding the gateway against the brothers and surrounded herself with magic healers whose powers repel the Valg.

In Antica, Chaol and Yrene face the last of his emotional and psychological trauma. The mental work and Yrene’s healing magic rid himself nearly entirely of the dark presence in his wound, and Chaol regains his ability to walk. Upon learning Yrene’s gift is the answer to ridding infested humans of Valg parasites, Chaol sends word to Nesryn and Sartaq, requiring their immediate return.

When the Healer on High goes missing, Yrene and Chaol track her to the tunnels beneath the Torre library, where they discover her held hostage by Princess Duva, who has become infested by a Valg. The Valg in Duva’s body reveals that Perrington sent a Wyrdstone ring to Duva as a wedding gift, which allowed the possession to take root. The Valg attacks Chaol, leaving him paralyzed once again and on his deathbed. Yrene uses the self-defense she’s taught herself to surprise and physically overcome Duva, whom she knocks out just as Nesryn and Sartaq arrive with the healers. With the aid of Hafiza and the healers, Yrene tunnels immense healing magic into Chaol. She bargains with the healing goddess, Silba, for his life, tethering his life to Yrene’s. After he is healed, they learn that if one dies, so shall the other; Chaol can walk again, but this ability is now tied to the strength of Yrene’s magic. When her magic is drained, Chaol will require a cane or wheelchair.

After using her magic to rid Duva of the Valg parasite and save her and her baby's lives, the Khagan repays Yrene’s kindness by agreeing to aid Erilea in the war against Erawan. Yrene and Chaol get married, Sartaq is named heir to the Khaganate and professes his love for Nesryn, and they set sail for Erilea with 300 healers, 1,000 rukhin, and 1,000 ships filled with foot soldiers and the horse-lord cavalry. Falkan joins them, eager to meet his niece, Lysandra. When Yrene shows Chaol the note from the mysterious female stranger who paid her way to the Southern Continent over two years ago, Chaol recognizes the handwriting as Aelin Galathynius’s and tells Yrene.