The City of Talis is a fragile beacon of civilization on the edge of the Faerie Lands. Beyond lies a wilder world of dark enchantments and terrible wonders, but behind the city walls humans and faeries live together in uneasy peace-until an explosion rocks the city and long-smoldering tensions threaten to ignite. As the Commandant of Police, Baron Hessing has maintained stability for decades. But with a murderer on the loose, an anarchist bombing the city, and rumors of a faerie uprising, he is starting to lose control. Hessing finds himself caught in a web of interlocking conspiracies and he may need to choose between saving his city and saving his family. Into this maelstrom appears the Countess. Trained from birth for a single purpose-vengeance-suddenly she appears everywhere from secret catacombs to the halls of power. Beset by enemies on all sides, it will take all her training to succeed in a city on the brink of revolution. Plans are in motion, centuries in the making, that will change the fate of Talis forever. Irons in the Fire is the first novel in the Chronicles of Talis.