In naval battles, the island kingdom of Charis almost completely defeated the military fleets of the alliance of five states put together against it. They are temporarily helped by Charis's lack of a ground army, but the kingdom begins to correct this deficiency by expanding the Marine Corps and preparing it for ground operations. The clergy of Charis did not accept the fact that the leadership of the Church organized the attack of the united fleets, and openly broke with it, declaring their independence. The members of the former alliance, who find themselves defenseless on the seas, like many residents of Safehold, have to make a risky choice about who they will cooperate with next, with the heretical Charis or with the powerful four vicars who have not abandoned plans for revenge, who control the Church, and through it the rest of the planet.