The city of Caphedra long stood as a center of commerce and a seat of conquest, until the murder of its king sends the land spiraling into a dangerous war of succession. Three friends are drawn into reluctant roles in an inevitable war as the army of a prince and his vindictive Lord Marshal march to confront the power-hungry zealots of a cloistered queen. Can a nobleman’s scheme to champion a tormented princess provide another path, or will the city be torn apart?