Brave and clever young Masika, the daughter of a diplomat and niece of an emperor, has discovered a pair of ex-gods in a secret dungeon below the Fell Citadel. She promises to return them home, only to be thwarted by the king of the gods himself-High King Oldam of the Alir. So Masika takes matters into her own hands and sets off to find a way to bring her new friends to their home despite the high king's wishes. But a deal with a very questionable imp painted on a playing card in a seedy tavern, sets the trio on a desperate adventure for help to the Alir's constant and deadly enemy, the gods of the Darrish empire. Can Masika, no matter how resourceful, hope to overcome the will of two sets of deities to keep her promise? Hostile armies, ancient sorcerers, and primordial monsters bar the way, but none is so formidable as . . . Masika's most elegant and proper older sister, Meritities.