The Arcadian royal family is in shambles: a dying king, an illegitimate daughter vying for a throne, and a country tearing itself apart. Every day more eastern troops cross the mountains and pillage local villages, and rumors of an uprising are whispered by desperate men. What a wonderful time to be a soldier.

Enter Desmond and Vashti, two soldiers in the Royal Guard who take orders directly from the Queen. They met on the edge of war, fell in love in the face of adversity, and learned to laugh even when things seemed dire. But can love survive when two sides with very different motives threatens to pull it apart? Can anything survive at all?