Street thief and spy Drot, suddenly promoted to the rank of Gray Prince in the criminal hierarchy, finds himself in a difficult situation. Someone framed him by killing Shchur, Drot's fellow craftsman and equal to him in status. In addition, his bosom friend Bronze Degan disappears, shocked by the treachery of Drot, who broke the sacred oath on steel, doing so for the benefit of the Dorminican Empire and the Circle of Thieves. But not only Degan is enraged by Drot’s act. The Oath of Steel is inextricably linked to the long reign of Emperor Stefan Dorminikos, who alternately existed in three incarnations. Drot is pinned against the wall, and he is forced to go to a hostile land of eastern deceit, genies and magic.