Brenn has spent her life being quiet and avoiding the attention of her father, the psychopathic emperor. He keeps her close and anyone who befriends her is in immediate danger. When she is offered a chance to leave on a design mission and she is given one year of freedom, she is not going to waste a minute. She is preparing to return to defend herself with everything in her. Designing a Citadel is right up her alley, and watching it being built is a dream come true. The Drai acting as host shows her that her father's people can have more than a homicidal personality-they can be kind and bring a sparkle to her soul.