The temple is torn apart by squabbles, and somewhere out there, on the frontier, the disgraced bastard of the last king is founding a new city, losing allies and gaining a family. His enemies prepare a cell for him in the most prestigious prison and celebrate his victory. The time for change is coming. Time of the Destroyer. Only Alan Wallid, who was appointed to this position, knows none of this. He is simply trying to survive in a world that is alien to him. Survive in spite of the gods who are playing their own game. And no one knows that the soul of a Russian woman lives in the body of the disgraced comte. A woman who is used to choosing her own destiny.