Rescued from a desert wasteland where he had been stranded for four thousand years, the Tenth Ascendant sits upon the throne of the City - his powers subduing the immortal gods and demigods who once ruled. Across the Straits in Jezra, Emily, Van and Kelsey Holdfast rally the last forces of resistance to the Ascendant's rule. At stake is the future, not only of the City of the Aurelians, but of the tyrant gods of Implacatus. The only way to stop him is for former enemies to unite, but some crimes are too terrible to be forgiven...