Vlad knows his trade: he kills people for a living. That skill got him his foothold in House Jhereg, running the rackets for a chunk of Adrilankha. You'd think that killing people would be excellent preparation for full-scale war, and Vlad thinks so, too. But on the spot, when he finds himself in the real trenches of a real war between rival Dragonlords, Vlad learns just how wrong he is.