Some ballads are inked in blood. The Mathuran Republic simmers on the brink of oblivion, and Senator Krishna and his third wife Satyabhama have put their plans in motion to protect it from total annihilation. But they soon discover that neither gold nor alliances last forever - and they are not the only players on the board... Mati, Pirate-Princess of Kalinga, has decided to change her ways and become a good wife.
But old habits die hard, especially when one habitually uses murder to settle scores. Beautiful Karna hopes to bury his brutal past, but destiny is a miser when it comes to granting second chances. And while hero-turned- torturer Shakuni limps through a path of daggers, his foes and woes multiply, leaving little time for vengeance. Their lives are about to become yet more difficult, as they converge where the Son of Darkness is prophesied to rise...
even as forgotten Gods prepare to play their hand.