Regicide and Parricide – two of the worst crimes imaginable – and Princess Kilbride plans to do both. Widowed at twenty-three, Kilbride has returned to her father’s kingdom of Upper Down, the last realm where the ancient bloodlines of Masters and Makers hold power. Feared by its neighbours, Upper Down has become a safe haven for ferocious bands of Westlanders, who raid and pillage the surrounding kingdoms. Far from trying to expel them, Kilbride’s father permits them to stay. The realm has grown rich off its ill-gotten profits, but it has also grown more violent and isolated. When disaster strikes the kingdom, Kilbride reaches out for allies, but all she has is a spoilt younger sister, a King’s Champion who spends his days drunk, and the manipulative Duke of Ridden. Two sisters, and two brothers – riven apart by mutual loathing and ambition. Squeezed between the Westlanders and a vengeful imperial army, Upper Down edges closer to extinction.