A young woman in her early twenties shows up, severely injured, on the doorstep of the biggest ranch in the Nevada territory. Will the Cartwright's take her in? Why is she afraid of them? Of people? Read to find out.

Ilha's marriage to the crown prince of the newly-formed Eight Banner Nation gives her people strength against their enemies, the Chakhar Gols, a warring sister-tribe. Yet when the Chakhar leader dies at her hand, Ilha finds not peace but further turmoil, and she must ask herself how far she is willing to go to attain peace for herself, her family, and her peoples. For the Eight Banner Nation has enemies of its own: an Empire with gunpowder and necromancers at their disposal. And just when her husband's victory seems assured, the gods have another fate in mind for Ilha, Queen of the Eight Banners. - - A new adult, history-inspired literary fantasy with fox and dog spirits, political maneuverings and action sequences aplenty. - - -