Emperor Marcus II is dead and the Empire is now ruled by the High Council, a fractious alliance of noble Lords and upstart Guildmasters, held together though sheer force of will by the common born Lord George, the Emperor's grieving lover. It is not an alliance anyone expects to last long.

To save the Empire from another tiresome civil war, Sir Brand, the Duke of Orston, Dragon Slayer, all round hero and terrible poet, travels to the far away city of Sealmu Alu in an attempt to find his father, the infamous Butcher of Bergraz and persuade him to return home from his self imposed exile and take the throne.

As the Empire lurches from crisis to crisis like a drunk on a ice covered road, Lady Anna, aristocratic heir to one of the noblest houses in the Empire and her companion, the eccentric Earth born Lady Kate acquire evidence that suggest the young Emperor's death may not have been the tragic accident it appeared to be.

Meanwhile the two people many regard as responsible for the whole recent crisis have disappeared without trace. The beautiful Druid Healer Natalie, the only person who can open the ancient alien Gateways to Earth and her Earth born lover, Xavier are on a quest to destroy the evil Iron Brotherhood, their quest taking them to strange places of legend, Flor Ida, Amarillo and beyond.

And if all this wasn't enough, the Dragons are not only back, they've taken over the internet and now seem to regard themselves as the dominant species of the planet.