For Berouna, it was a chance to see her friend one final time. For Kaligali, it was a job, and an easy one at that: find the widow, escort her to the client's deathbed, receive payment. But neither could have guessed that the dying man would give them a mysterious jewel; or that the Sultan--and his enemies--would try to claim the stone for themselves.

Pious Berouna and amoral Kaligali find themselves unwittingly plunged into the swirling politics of the Imperial Palace and the wonders and terrors of the Harem, where clockwork warriors guard a scientist princess and concubines plot rebellion.

The two fugitives must evade capture before the jewel's true potential is unleashed: a devastating power which could destroy Khebbet altogether, or lead it forth into a new age.