The lovely, reclusive Lady Roksana remains as yet unmarried. Tonight, though, she's opened her castle to the most eligible of the Empire's nobility. It's a curious thing: her party starts at dusk, and she says that she'll choose a spouse by midnight. Of course, this has attracted the sort of people who are willing to risk life, livelihood, and reputation for the sake of making a grand romantic gesture. But tonight is not a night for romance alone. Each suitor has much cause to speak and scheme with his fellows. Secluded parties, after all, are where Empires rise and fall...

Outsize ambition, abhorrent obsession, and the mundanities of museum politics grind against mad science, threats of illegal sorcery, and a very ill-timed visit from the Emperor. Will the Lady Roksana's party survive the chaos of its guests? And will the Lady Roksana herself manage to marry well? Or ever?