This third book in the series tells of Mara's further adventures, climbing the military ranks of Tara on her way to a confrontation with Donal XII, the former Sean Reilly. Meanwhile, Angus and Day McAllister, exiled to our earth in one of Hibernia's many palace coups, have their own scores to settle with Mara's McCarthy enemies and their allies. So do Lady Katherina and her adoptive daughter Sheana. Others also have reason to be present in court when the ban on the throne expires. Their lives intertwine with Mara's and each other as they struggle spiritually while facing well-financed high-tech conspiracies to turn Hibernia and the other earths into ethnically cleansed MacCarthy family dictatorships. This story cycle takes us to Afghanistan, Rome, Glenfinnan, Prison City, and the Gulf Islands of British Columbia