Herbalist Maomao is all anyone in the palace can talk about after her show of food tasting at the garden banquet. After receiving a mysterious hairpin at the banquet, she returns to the pleasure district for the first time in almost a year. While visiting her home, a courtesan and her client are found poisoned, and Maomao finds herself investigating another mystery.
Still searching for the garden banquet poisoner, Maomao stays at the Garnet Palace. However, the palace holds shocking secrets that could cause Maomao to lose her job and her life!.
Having been immobilized in combat, Phosphophyllite has only Ghost Quartz for back up. Both of them must struggle through the Lunarian's relentless strike until more help arrives.
Spring arrives, and all the gems awake to see Phosphophyllite's transformation--brand new arms make our hero popular, too popular, and it attracts the scariest gem of all, Bort, who decides to be Phos's partner in battle.
Phosphophyllite returns to the moon after failing to convince Kongo to pray for the Lunarians. Padparadscha becomes covered in Cinnabar's poison, while Yellow Diamond has suffered a terrible psychological blow. On the moon, Phos must come up with a new plan, but Cairngorm and the other gems decide life on the moon is actually pretty nice.
Phosphophyllite and her team of deserters travel back to the moon where they discover what happened to their captured friends. While there, the Lunarians offer to make Phos and her team whole again if they will help the Lunarians achieve their ultimate goal.
When Phosphophyllite's head is taken to the moon, it means the defeated gem can be revived only one way--a head transplant. Lapis Lazuli volunteers, but now that Phos's body has a new head, the others wonder if it is still the original Phos.
Despite the hatred the other gems have for the Lunarians, Pho makes an effort to communicate. But the job is perhaps more difficult than one gem can handle.
Pho gets new legs and can now go to battle. But when the times comes to fight, he is too afraid. To punish himself, he stays awake all winter while the other gems sleep.
