"By Water" follows the exploits of Rakvir Stagarnik following on the events in "Through Fire", as seen by his son Rako and eldest daughter, Asha. Wishing to embellish his capital, Zgar Zavzar manoeuvres to impose an extraordinary levy on his subjects. When Rakvir stands in his way, he attempts to get him killed. But his plot is foiled. However, triumph turns into disaster as Arhilka dies in her sleep. Unable to come to terms with his anguish, Rakvir wishes to die, but knows Arhilka would regard his suicide as dishonourable. So he organises an expedition to explore the uncharted southern seas in the hope and expectation that he will die in the course of the journey. With a crew full of unexpected people, he sets off into the unknown. The first volume in the epic "By Water" is set in a distant planet, not too dissimilar from our own, written by Richard Hernaman Allen, a former Commissioner of Customs & Excise, as a follow-up to "Through Fire".