Journey to the ringed world of Cerule—a world ravaged by a celestial catastrophe that brought a new moon into its orbit. This new orbiting body is tiny but exerts a powerful pull on all things when overhead. It also exerts a powerful effect on religion, as the world’s two major faiths fight wars to defend their interpretation of the strange new visitor.

Amid this turmoil, the heir-apparent to the duchy of Valatriste—a stranger who hasn’t set foot in his homeland since the age of four—is murdered on the way to his coronation.

Tercero of Muntro street, a commoner, teacher of swordsmanship, and occasional thief, stumbles upon the massacred caravan and forms a hasty plan. He will assume the identity of the dead lord and, for a very short time, will claim the dukedom of Valatriste. He’ll walk away with the city’s treasury if he can fool the nobility of Valatriste for a day or two. But if he fails, he and his friends will be tortured for weeks before their eventual execution.

Tercero unwittingly enters a dangerous jungle of political in-fighting, lethal assassins, scheming priests, hidden rebels, and an entire ecosystem of rapacious courtiers and businessmen. Complicating things even more is the strange stone he found among the inventory of the dead heir-apparent. Is this beautiful rock actually trying to help him? Or does it have a more sinister purpose?

His only ally is Aurelie, a bitter noblewoman who’s both beautiful and secretive. As he and Aurelie grow closer, Tercero’s world view slowly cracks. The only thing he’s certain of is that one mistake will doom them all—and could, perhaps, doom the entire kingdom. But no pressure, right?

Oh, and one last complication: Tercero is completely mad.

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