The City may be under siege but everyone still has to make a living. Take Notker the acclaimed playwright actor and impresario. Thankfully the good citizens of Classis appreciate an evening at the theatre even when there are large rocks falling out of the sky. But Notker is a man of many talents and all the world is apparently a stage. It seems that the Empire needs him for a role that will call for the performance of a lifetime. At least it will guarantee fame fortune and immortality. If it doesn't kill him first. With razor-sharp prose and ferocious wit K.J. Parker has created one of fantasy's greatest heroes and he might even get away with it.