The Royal Vispasian Union monarchies have been bound together for 200 years by laws enforced by the powerful Sun Chamber. Nations have flourished, but corruption, deprivation and murder will always find a way. Following his father's death, Sun Chamber Officer Lucan Drakenfeld is called home to Tryum and rapidly embroiled in a mystifying case. The King's sister has been found murdered, her body in a locked temple. Drakenfeld must separate superstition from certainty. The case makes him a target, as Tryum's underworld gangs focus on this new threat to their power. Embarking on the biggest investigation of his career, Drakenfeld soon realizes the evidence is leading him toward a motive that could bring darkness to the whole continent. The fate of the nations is in his hands.