The third volume in the series takes up where The Initiate and The Initiate in the New World leave off, providing more insights into the mysterious Adept known as Justin Moreward Haig. At first, we think that "the dark cycle" relates to the group of students left to their own devices when Justin Moreward Haid disappears for a time. The students meet with the astrologer David Anrias, and become aware of the concepts taught by Krishnamurti and the theosophists. But when Justin Moreward Haid reappears we learn that the dark cycle really indicates a period of destruction and war when Planetary Logos is throwing off and transmuting poisons that create disturbances in the collective astral or emotional body of the human race. In this volume we learn how the group develops, how they relate to their missing teacher, and how they continue their search for spiritual understanding.