HE IS THE IMPERATOR ...Gregory Amerdath, Master of Imperial Earth and the Eight Worlds Beyond. Even here, deep in his Imperial city of Chronos, in the safety of the Garden of the Nine Planets, he is protected by praetorian guards. His ever-watchful Ornyl bodyguard, Chuddath—a grotesque crossbreed of man and giant insect—stands eager to destroy any man who would mean his master harm. Yet it is Elias Kane to whom the Imperator turns for help... Elias Kane, Investigator, who vanquished the awesome evil of the Psychopath Plague. He is the Imperator, the most powerful force in the Empire... and someone is trying to kill him.