The brother of a fallen emperor ascends to the throne of the Cerani Empire in the second installment of the Tower and Knife trilogy. After a lifetime locked in his tower room, Sarmin has come into his own. He is the crowned emperor; he has wed Mesema of the horse tribes; the Pattern-Master is dead. Everything should be happy-ever-after. But war ignites in the north, and in the palace, Sarmin's new baby brother is seen as a threat...