An empire of genocidal artificial intelligences threatens to overwhelm humanity, held back only by the combined fleets of humanity's lone superpower, the Majesterium. The allied might of the dozens of human systems who owe fealty to the Star King have long stood as a unified bulwark against the Syntharchy...until now. The alliance threatens to unravel when a planned wedding is interrupted by the sudden disappearance of the betrothed princess. This sort of politics used to bore Captain E. Z. Sudden of the light freighter, "Jade Rose" until the most sought after woman in the galaxy falls into his lap. Not knowing who to trust, the pair set out on a journey to the darkest depths of space in search of the one man that can reunite the princess with her king before Civil war erupts and opens the door for a mechanical apocalypse.

Sudden and Karenina return to action in this, their first mission as part of the Star King’s intelligence service. Sudden knows every simple job has the potential to get real complicated real quick, especially when a guy has to show his naïve and adventurous new wife the ropes. To his chagrin, a simple intelligence gathering mission goes south when they uncover a hidden conspiracy on the fringes of the Ragged Edge of space – a plot by the local megacorp to steal the land out from under a few humble farmers. Their investigation leads the roguish smuggler and his princess bride into a web of evil larger than either could have imagined. With all of the thrilling fights and chases and escapes from certain doom you’ve come to expect from the humble and hardworking tramp space freighter captain E. Z. Sudden, and all of his princess' charms, this novel touches on the deeper meaning of heroism, handled with a light touch that will leave you smiling and ready for more.

Beset by enemies on all sides, Captain E.Z. Sudden finds himself in a desperate race to find allies who can back his play to save the Majesterium from a secretive enemy, a simmering civil war, the threat of organized crime, and an invasion by the machine empire all at the same time. This third installment of his adventures carries the blue collar hero from Roamer colonies to prison planets and all the way to the seat of the greatest power in the galaxy in a desperate bid to keep the universe safe not only for its own sake but for that of his wife and unborn child.