The largest civil war in living memory threatens to alter the balance of power between the Gnome Great Houses. Gralicus Greycap, the unlucky mercenary who started it, now finds himself halfway around the world... and sober. Fleeing a marriage proposal which would keep her confined in a sleepy little village, Illa Whitecap runs into one of the few remaining Redcaps in the world. Failing to convince the grumpy wizard to take her as an apprentice would mean returning home empty-handed, embarrassed, and, worst of all, engaged. But the gnome truly holding the reins is the Noble Blackcap Tavin. Besieged by his own nephew, their neighbors are poised to pull the House apart like a beetle in an ant's nest. Can he defeat him with lies and guile, or will he be forced to kill him before time grows short?