The king of Falkrum is dead, and in a matter of days, his nation finds itself under imperial rule. Behind the seizure is Reinald, who beat his sister Wilhelmina to the punch, asserting himself as a new competitor for heir to the emperor himself.

With the situation at home now unpredictable, and rumors spreading about her chosen allegiances, Karen and the Conrad family's survivors move to the imperial capital to build a new base of operations. But intriguing mysteries of the past wait for them at the border...