Richard St. Vier is the most notorious swordsman in a city where noblemen's disputes of honor are settled by hired duelists... a city starkly divided between the rich mansions of the Hill and the lawless slums of Riverside. But the intrigues on the hill will soon embroil St. Vier, going beyond the usual dangers of the profession to endanger his lover, a failed scholar who may not be who he seems. A frivolous young noble begins to make a secret change of habits. An unknown power plots an assassination attempt against a Chancellor. And as the drama unfolds, St. Vier becomes an unwilling pawn in the nobles' conflicts of honor and power.