A warrior prince who wants to have a few choice words with your Lady Mother, the Empress of Man. But to have them, you, your surviving Marines, and your Mardukan allies must cross a demon-haunted ocean, face a civilization that is "civilized" in name alone and "barbarians" who may not be exactly what they seem, and once again battle against impossible odds. All so that you can attempt to somehow seize a heavily defended spaceport and hijack a starship to take you home.

Yet what neither Roger, nor the Marines, nor his allies know is that the battle to leave Marduk is only the beginning. And that words with Roger's mother will be hard to come by.

But that's all right. Because what the Galaxy doesn't know is that it's about to receive a fresh proof of an old truism:

You don't mess with a MacClintock.

Roger has an ace in the hole: Bravo Company of Bronze Battalion of The Empress‘ Own Regiment. If anyone can get him off Marduk alive, it's the Bronze Barbarians.

Assuming that Prince Roger manages to grow up before he gets all of them killed.

To get to the distant port that is their only way off the planet, they'll be forced to battle enraged monsters, displaced mercenaries, religious fanatics and a barbarian horde to shame the Huns. Along the way they'll have to recreate the Reformation, the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution. And do it all in a context their four-armed, horned, grizzly-bear sized native allies can handle.

Roger Ramius Sergei Alexander Chiang MacClintock has had a really bad year.

Bad enough to be the spoiled rotten fop of a prince no one wanted or trusted.

Worse to be sent off on a meaningless diplomatic mission, simply to get you out from underfoot, with a bodyguard of Marines who loathe and despise you.

Worst of all to have discovered that you were born to be a warrior prince...

Roger Ramius Sergei Alexander Chiang McClintock hasn't done anything the easy way.

The spoiled playboy prince grew up the hard way on the planet Marduk. Watching ninety percent of your bodyguards — bodyguards who have become friends, closer to you than your own brothers and sisters — die to keep you alive will do that. And it tends to make you dangerous . . . perhaps in too many ways...