Frank Richland sometimes dreams of being a character in one of the video games he plays or the fantasy stories he reads, but he never expected to be come the leader of his own country and the master of a realm.  Frank is not given a choice by the mysterious system that kidnaps him during a relaxing walk upon one of the many paths around Austin.  The system warns him that other Realm Masters will try to conquer his realm which will kill him.  The only path to survival is to build a strong empire, to become a powerful psion, and to grow as quickly as he can.