Over the course of three days the King of the Union engages in a battle with Black Dow, the Protector of the North for control of the standing stones known as the Heroes, as blundering generals, inexperienced recruits, scheming rulers, murderous thugs, and weary veterans clash in brutal combat.

"The second novel in the wildly popular First Law Trilogy from New York Times bestseller Joe Abercrombie. Superior Glokta has a problem. How do you defend a city surrounded by enemies and riddled with traitors, when your allies can by no means be trusted, and your predecessor vanished without a trace? It's enough to make a torturer want to run -- if he could even walk without a stick. Northmen have spilled over the border of Angland and are spreading...