The Red Knight's final battle lies ahead...but there's a whole war still to fight first. He began with a small company, fighting the dangerous semi-mythical creatures that threatened villages, nunneries and cities. But as his power - and his forces - grew, so the power of the enemy he stood against became ever clearer. Not the power of men...but that of gods, with thousands of mortal allies. Never has strategy been more important, and this war will end where it started: at Lissen Carak.

Some are born to power, some seize it and some have the wisdom never to wield it. Red Knight has stood against soldiers, against armies and against the might of an empire without flinching. He's fought on real and on magical battlefields alike, and now he's facing one of the greatest challenges yet. A tournament. A joyous spring event, the flower of the nobility will present arms and ride against each other for royal favour and acclaim.

Loyalty costs money. Betrayal, on the other hand, is free. When the emperor is taken hostage, the Red Knight and his men find their services in high demand - and themselves surrounded by enemies. The country is in revolt, the capital city is besieged and any victory will be hard won. But the Red Knight has a plan. The question is can he negotiate the political, magical, real and romantic battlefields at the same time - especially when intends to be victorious on them all?

Forget George and the dragon. Forget Sir Lancelot and tales of knightly exploits. This is dirty, bloody work. This is violent, visceral action. This is a mercenary knight as you've never seen one before. Twenty-eight florins a month is a huge price to pay for a man to stand between you and the Wild. Twenty-eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders.

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.