The city of Darien lies at the heart of a dying empire.Twelve families spoil for a throne soon to be made vacant - by murder or civil war. Into this fevered, hungry city come six strangers:An orphan and an old swordsman.A hunter and a pitiless killer.A young thief and a cynical chancer.As the sun sinks the city will know no slumber. For long dormant passions have awoken. Fortunes will be won and lost. Lives will be staked and claimed.And a story long waiting to be told will catch fire in the telling . . . .