An innocent excited boy, a prince and heir, takes his first journey to the city. The streets teem with merchants in velvet robes, magicians, half-mad preachers, with life and color, poverty and noise. He doesn't want to miss any of it.

But this is the last journey in his life as a prince. Soon he will be abandoned and declared dead. Soon he will be utterly alone, faced only with survival and what will become the driving force of his life: the quest to recover his stolen inheritance, his usurped throne. His home.

"Moves at a whirlwind pace through political intrigue…A remarkable amount of plot as well as beguiling characters."
—Publisher's Weekly

Her awards range from the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Award to the John W. Campbell Award. In the past year, she has been nominated for the Hugo, the Shamus, and the Anthony Award. She is the only person in the history of the science fiction field to have won a Hugo award for editing and a Hugo award for fiction. Her short work has been reprinted in fifteen Year's Best collections. Find out more about her at www.kristinekathrynrusch.com.