Two households, unalike in dignity... Lieutentant Mero is passionately in love with Yetta, daughter of a powerful religious leader in their nation-state of Seena. That's problematic: Mero is off fighting a war to protect Seena's access to clean water, and he happens to be engaged to a noblewoman, My Lady Em, who is paying to care for Mero's ill father. Back in Seena, two factions vie for power: The Victrix and the Cerchi, and words are giving way to violence in the city streets. After Mero discovers a traitor in the ranks and is wounded, he is sent home to recover. His best friend, Leance, runs afoul of a Cerchi troublemaker--a conflict that ends in death. When the reigning monarch of Seena refuses to press charges in the name of keeping peace, My Lady Em convinces Mero to assassinate her and ascend the throne as a war hero. All they need do first is get married . . . In this passionate mixture of Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, author Tom Leveen weaves an epic tale of passion, murder, and war that will leave you breathless until the last word.