Forced against his will to take a risky job with scant hope of reward, diminutive swindler Drogn the Magnificent has little to rely on save his own uniquely twisted set of wits. Drawing on a shallow wellspring of dubious talent, the fast-talking dwarf must find a way to convince a brazen would-be queen to give up her most cherished ambitions: It's either that or Drogn's head when Svrosh, the ruthless Serpent-Prince, demands his pound of flesh. Architect of the coup that marked the fall of Taugwadeth, the traitorous Stethine k'Flerion is holed up with her henchmen in the fortress-like Library of Rvnshrah. Now Drogn and his companions must find a way to infiltrate the citadel, discover the location of a priceless book of ancient lore, and get close enough to Stethine to administer a dose of numbing spider venom, the better to deliver her into the vile Prince-Regent's clutches. Along with Vasto the giant (Svrosh's musclebound enforcer), stolid farmboy Bymno, two-headed scholar-bird Klervix-Wrder, and lovely outworlder Gemma (a refugee from Medieval Scotland where she was once accused of witchcraft), Drogn will face more than his share of hardships and horrors, wonders, perils, and galling inconvenience in pursuit of liberty, respect, and his own long-dreamed-of life of ease. The third entry in J.M. Kind's epic saga of the world of Edomia comprises a short, fast-paced adventure that leads off from the first two books even as it sets the stage for those to come.