"You have a choice, Ms. Jones. Nothing in this world is gained without sacrifice. Civilization requires cruelty to survive. It is a cold equation that must be balanced."

Penny Jones is not a hero. She is not a leader. She learned that lesson the hard way in her teens, and now, ever since the death of her dad, she's spent every waking moment clawing out a living as a freelance graphic designer. Video games are things that she loves, but usually has neither the time nor money for. So when her best-friend surprises her with tickets to the exclusive beta of Astrea, a fully immersive fantasy game, she should be thrilled. Except Astrea isn't just a game, its a world created by Edward Prince, an amoral billionaire who ruined her life almost ten years ago, and it has one purpose -- find the next leader worthy of taking over his company. Thankfully, Penny's not stupid enough to think that's a game she could win. Right? Note: This is a story about a flawed protagonist trying to prove that you don't need to be a sociopathic asshole in order to have power and a stable society, and that sometimes, maybe, after enough blood, sweat and tears, the unlikely good guy can actually win. Maybe. Or maybe she just gets her head chomped off sixty billion times.