Lostport is a backwater kingdom thrust into the spotlight when wealth is discovered on its shores. High-spirited and irresponsible Laina, the king's only remaining heir, may not be allowed to inherit the throne—but she alone can keep her beloved homeland out of the High King's grasp.

When the High King decides to use a construction project in one of the remote fjords of Lostport as a training ground for his armies, tensions mount, until the straightforward project begins to look like an excuse for a military takeover of Lostport.

Will Laina consent to marrying a stranger to keep her kingdom out of the hands of the grasping Whitish Empire? Or is she desperate enough to push her own land to the brink of ruin to sever ties with Whitland?