Mickle, once a common street urchin, now rules Westmark as the wise Queen Augusta. Yet the kingdom is strangely restless. Ghosts of the past lurk everywhere, whispering of future war. Justin and his revolutionaries denounce the monarchy--even the benevolent Mickle. Cabbarus, banished from Westmark, plots to seize the throne and install a Reign of Terror.

Theo, the famed Colonel Kestrel, remembers it all--the bloody battles, and the fight for his own soul. The past has retumed to haunt the present, and Theo, once again, must join in the struggle. Who will at last command the fate of Westmark?