She was forced to open her eyes on the gallows, a three-inch silver needle pressed against the artery in her throat.
Witch doctor Wu Yao, a modern medical student, faces the death penalty for poisoning a prince. She uses her knowledge of anatomy to fake livor mortis, but in the dungeon she meets Tang Yu, who records the dates of prisoners' deaths. Could this cold-faced prison warden really be the sharpest blade of an enemy kingdom?
When a mad old palace servant draws a bloody formation from the previous dynasty, and an improved fire starter ignites the signal for a revolt, dangerous feelings take root amid observations of death. At last, the light of an eclipse tears open the dynasty's bloodiest wound.
Her personal maid hides poison in her sleeve, her half-sister clutches a voodoo doll soaked with her birth details, and Tang Yu's sword point presses against her back. “Miss Wu, it's time to bring your game to an end.”
When schemes become blades for survival, who is the true player in this deadly game spanning time and space?
