Aly Homewood, former slave and now maid to Dove, is on her way back to Rajmuat with the Balitang family. They had originally been exiled by Rajmuat's former king and were now being asked to return by the regents to the toddler king Dunevon. The regents, Rubinyan and his wife Imajane, were members of the Rittevon Crown as was the former king and Duchess Winnamine Balitang's late husband. Aly had long since set up a spy network while they had been exiled. She had sent several of her spies to Rajmuat before their arrival so they would know the area like they had been there yesterday, instead of in exile. The family's goal was to overthrow the Rittevon Crown so that they could put a twice royal ruler on the throne. This would be either Dove or Sarai since their father had originally married the most famous raka queen and he was a Duke.

    Sarai is loved by all the young rich men for her beauty and grace. Dove is loved by the merchants, the impoverished, and the royal elders. Her intelligence was at a level that allowed her become involved in deep conversations with the elders. She enjoyed going on walked and meeting people and seeing what they where selling and she always tried to help those who were struggling to get by. Sarai was just a figure. She didn't associate with the lower classes near as much as Dove.

    Aly's spy network was working to get rid of Topabaw, the kingdom's head spy. They also worked to stretch out the king's army and navy so that they could start a rebellion. The spies had everything laid out, but some of them weren't sure if it would work or not since Topabaw was a very powerful spy. All of it turns out to be an exciting adventure for the entire Balitang family and its network of spies.

    I thought this was an exciting novel! It was full of plotting, spying, and hiding. I felt like I was waiting on the edge of a dry riverbank for the water to come rushing past. It was a wonderful adventure to be able to take part in and I'd do it again the next time I read it. I'd highly recommend this book for ages 13 and older. It was a wonderful book and a great addition to my growing collection of novels.