In far-off Essos, Queen Daenerys Targaryen rules over a court rife with intrigue. But while her subjects may involve themselves in plot after plot against each other (and indeed against the Queen herself), they stand united against their enemies in the field. With advisors and councilors such as Mirri Maz Duur, Hizdahr Zo Loraq, the scribe Missandei, and the mysterious Quaithe, the Dragon Queen sows confusion upon her enemies, while her commanders Marselen and Skahaz Mo Kandaq keep their troops in line, both by example and the whip’s bloody lash. —description from the publisher