"A child's life hangs in balance... in this we are certain."

In the age of science and gunpowder, what place could magic hold? When a high-profile murder is dumped in her lap, Draius isn't worried about magic. City Guard politics are brutal and the captain makes it clear her job is on the line; there are plenty of rivals waiting for her to fail, including her estranged husband.

More killings follow. Draius endures threats and attacks as she uncovers a treasonous conspiracy, one that hopes to revive necromantic magic. But when they graduate to murder by magic and her own son...