The Eldadorian Empire has gone to war, and the Emperor has left the building In his place, Tartan Stowe, the son of the old King, is doing his best to hold things together. After an unsuccessful invasion by the Confluni hordes and an attempt to kidnap Princess Lee by the thousand-year-old King of Trenbon, Tartan is faced with resistant Wolf Soldiers, angry nobles and peasants ready to revolt. Now, as id that weren't enough, someone is trying to kill him As it's all about to fly apart, in comes a club foot boy, the son of an old ally, a beautiful mercenary named Jean. But Jean has her own secrets, and isn't it a coincidence that she should show up now? Tartan Stowe is a young man whom many thought should be the next King of Eldador, and some still do Now it seems to be up to him to keep the Empire alive so that an usurper can conquer the rest of Fovea, and doesn't he have to wonder if this might be the time to bring back the Stowes, or to consolidate for himself a position in the new regime forever? Things are moving fast, and say what he will, Tartan has to realize that this is not his father's Eldadorian Empire