A new and corrupt Emperor seeks to rebuild the ancient structures of Villjamur to give the people of the city hope in the face of great upheaval and an oppressing ice age. But when a stranger called Shalev arrives, empowering a militant underground movement, crime and terror become rampant.

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...

Having just solved a difficult case in his home city of Tryum, Sun Chamber Officer Lucan Drakenfeld and his associate Leana are ordered to journey to the exotic city of Kuvash in Koton, where a revered priest has gone missing. When they arrive, they discover the priest has already been found or at least parts of him have. But investigating the unusual death isn't a priority for the legislature of Kuvash; there's a kingdom to run, a census to create and a dictatorial Queen to placate. Soon Drakenfeld finds that he is suddenly in charge of an investigation in a strange city, whose customs and...