Thraxas would rather be anywhere than at the Assemblage of the Sorcerers Guild, but the perpetually indigent private eye badly needs the fee. The Guild is meeting to elect a new head sorcerer and Cicerius, the city¿s Deputy Consul, is determined that the new head of the Guild will be Lisutaris of Turai. Toward that end, he wants Thraxas to be an undercover agent, working behind the scenes, with a temporary appointment to the long-vacant post of Tribune of the People as cover. Aside from the fee, it is not wise to say ¿no¿ to Cicerius. But Thraxas will soon have plenty of reasons to regret taking the case: when he learns that the most deadly assassin in the Assassin Guild is coming to town, reportedly to eliminate Lisutaris; when the sorcerer most favored to win the election is murdered and Lisutaris is the prime suspect; and when it begins to seem very unlikely that Thraxas will live to collect his fee. And even if Thraxas does survive, can Turai itself survive having a loose cannon like Thraxas as a government official?