Book II of The Aether Universe. It is the 99th year of the Age of Light. Alice Meynell has fought her way to the title of Greatgrandmistress of the Telegraphers' Guild to create her dynasty - a dynasty threatened by the consumption ravaging her only son Ralph. No medicine, spell or surgery in Europe can cure him. Desperate, she asks the help of a man who once loved her; he has been terribly changed by magic but now has powers that may be Ralph's only hope. She will pay any price. Alice succeeds in buying a cure for her son but to her fury discovers that her dynasty means nothing to him. He has fallen in love with Marion Price, a servant girl. As the lovers plan a future of their own, Alice sets events in motion that threaten not only to tear Ralph and Marion apart, but to bring the Age of Light to an end. Cover art by Steve Stone.