The ka-tet arrives at Calla Bryn Sturgis, a farming community under periodic assault from the Wolves - masked riders from the dark land of Thunderclap who steal one child from each pair of twins and return them ruined. The fifth novel is the most overtly structured of the series, drawing on Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven as explicit inspirations. It also introduces Father Callahan, a character from King's Salem's Lot, and begins the metafictional strand that will run through the final two books. The longest of the later novels, it rewards patience - the community of the Calla is richly drawn and the battle sequence is among the series' most satisfying set pieces.
