Queen Rejeena and her queen's man Aarvan face ominous threats. The great queen of Kriiscon is dead. Rejeena's mortal enemy and Aarvan's carnal stalker, Queen Tabarana—an abomination, selfish, cruel, and manipulative—looms as the obvious successor. Rejeena and Aarvan must fashion a clever political maneuver to deny Tabarana this exalted, powerful position. Complicating their efforts, a flashflood forces a face-to-face meeting between Queen Rejeena and Jannsen of the Caana. Though avowed foes, they agree to discourse. Opposing views of Kriiscon, women ruling, and men slaves brought to light and laid bare, challenged and defended, sharp tongues replacing slicing steel. Treason compounds Rejeena's problems. Did Shabet, Rejeena's long-time friend and captain, reverse her loyalty? Captain Locin, Aarvan's protector, conspires to reveal a definitive pointer to Shabet's guilt. Which captain will the queen believe? If she doesn't choose wisely, guiltless lives will be lost. Aarvan confronts his own disaster. A catastrophic event hurls him backward in memory where he will unearth lost truths and discover the origin of his inner beast. Will that savage monster support him as he faces new dangers or consume him, eradicating the honest, steadfast man he has become? Together, Rejeena and Aarvan must seek a path to save them and their island from devastation.