Two kings. One throne. Three ghosts. Merrik Niles has his hands full.

Wallowing in grief and self-pity, Merrik Niles finds himself at the bottom of a bottle of brandy, straining the patience of anyone who might care about him. Shamed into shaping up, Merrik decides his bystanding days are over. He's going to rejoin the war effort against the cruel hunchback currently vying for the throne of Greymond.

That's easier said than done.

Along the way, Merrik must rescue himself and his companions from shipwreck, form an alliance with a sorceress who previously tried to murder him, infiltrate a city under siege, and concoct an unlikely plan to bring the war to a quick conclusion . . . all while trying to keep himself and his friends alive. The enemy will stop at nothing to kill him . . . if his friends don't do the job first.

There is one problem. Even if Merrik and his friends should prove victorious, there is a bigger threat looming, one that threatens existence itself. The key lies with the ghosts inside him, but which ghost wants to help him save the world? And which wants to betray him?