War may be hell, but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Grand Duke Orso's employ, it's a damn good way of making money too.

Her victories have made her popular - a shade too popular for her employer's taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain and left for dead, Monza has only one thing left to live for: Revenge.

Her allies include Styria's least reliable drunkard, Styria's most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers and a barbarian who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation.

And that's all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started...