The colonial cities and villages of Fatrast never knew peace. War hero Ben Stike commands the garrison of a sleepy provincial town. One day, the governor’s brother stops here to spend the night with a detachment of Kezan soldiers, and Stayk has to take up arms to protect the local residents. The action of the story takes place twelve years before the events of the second trilogy “Sins of the Empire” from the universe of gunpowder magicians.