Description: Condemned to death for making a mechanical toy for his daughter, the engineer Ziani Vaatzes escaped from Mezentia. His implacable determination to return home led him to contrive an intricate plan to bring down the Republic, a plan which requires a war that has so far cost thousands of lives. He regrets the deaths. But he had no choice. Duke Valens of the Vadani dragged his people into the war to save the life of one woman. Then he killed her husband. Now, allied to the nomadic barbarians who have the manpower to defeat Mezentia but who want his people's land for themselves, the Duke reflects on his decisions before the final assault begins. He regrets the evil he's done. But he had no choice. Secretary Psellus never wanted to rule the Republic, or fight a desperate siege for its survival. He didn't want to start the war that now threatens to destroy his city. Trying to make sense of how it all happened, he finds himself compelled to investigate the circumstances of Vaatzes' crime. He is terrified of what he might find out, but he has no choice. The machine has been built. All that remains is to set it in motion.