With the threat of more assassinations on Bainbridge paralyzing the fortified island, and spies in her own ranks, turning her own men against her, Jillybean has to look to unlikely allies as The Black Captain brings his fury south to destroy her. He is consumed with the idea of revenge and yet he retains a cold, calculating rationality that Jillybean does not. The stress of war as well as the deaths of her friends and the man she loves, by her own hand is eating away at what little mental stability she has left. Again and again she slips away into a fantasy world, and each time she loses a little more control of the murdering thugs she calls an army. Her only hope is to turn to The Guardians, a religious community that values faith and honor higher than life itself. The problem she faces; however, is she can’t hide the fact that she is and always will be The Mad Queen.