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This fantasy novel details the attempted political dominance among a "God-Emperor" in the West, a sort of revamping of the religious crusades in the East by a group of zealots who have designs on the North. Meanwhile, a plutocracy in the South has its own amusements, realpolitik, and true evil—the Muntalabacs or "Dread Lords" of old. One of the Dread Lords is present at this time and has the potential power to destroy all. Interwoven in all the dominance and doom is comic relief, the best of which emerges from a character named Slade, who is the leader of a rebel group.
This book is a complex work. However, dystopian fantasies usually have common connections. This novel develops constructs of positive forces and beings, negative and destructive antagonists, and the struggle for dominance for either survival or destruction. However, the narrative shows that war and annihilation are not all life has to offer. There are also positives such as humor, love, and hope. Readers will be relieved when the misfits see the bleak situations surrounding them as ludicrous. Slade's conversations with his group teem with teasing and mockery. A quote early in the book demonstrates this: "Carr'Selain has seen fit to send a bright eyed, bushy tailed representative in lieu of assassins or more thugs. Rumor is that he wants a meeting, though we're not supposed to know it's him." Overall, the Kozinskis have pulled together many plot skeins to weave an unusual tale.