Tomorrow Baru Cormoran will go to the beach and see scarlet sails on the horizon. The Empire of Masks will arrive, armed with coins and ink, doctrines and compasses, soap and lies. Outsiders will conquer Taranoke, Baru's home island, rewrite its culture, ban its customs, and take away one of its fathers. But Baru is patient. She will swallow her hatred and become part of the Masquerade. She will fight her way to the top and gain power to free her people. Testing her loyalty, Masquerade will order Bar to restore order in distant Ordwynn, a den of rebels, spies and rebel dukes. But Baru is highly skilled at political games, and her ruthlessness in matters of tactics is matched only by her single-mindedness. And now she is ready to deliver the final blow and pay the price of freedom in full.