It sounds like a simple job to con man Bel Alan: pretend to be the natural son of the assassinated Calpurnian Autarch Iulus and steal the priceless Solaste Crown. All he needs to do is convince Iulus's successor, the Altissima Antisia, that he's a kid no one's seen in thirty years, talk his way into the Viceregal Palace on Lono, and get out with the Crown before anyone figures out the scam. He'll need a quick getaway, and the House Melian merchanter Golden Wanderer run by sisters Aurore and Dian Melian looks like just the ticket.

But Bel isn't the only one with a plan. The Lonoi Resistance are plotting to overthrow Altissima Antisia, who's already bracing for attack from a rival Calpurnian faction leader's fleet. Dian Melian seems determined to charm Altissima Antisia for reasons of her own. And the priestess who hired Bel may be planning to use the Solaste Crown to name a new heir to the lost Lonoi monarchy-if the god she serves accepts that heir as worthy.

Bel isn't sure he believes in either princes or gods. But his simple theft may be about to plunge Lono into a bloody civil war, and finding the Blameless Prince to wear the crown may be the only way to stop it. What's a con man to do when the stakes of his game are suddenly the fate of a world?