In the land of Karnez, Cattle is King. And when it comes to tycoons and kings, the Bucklands are chief among them. The Alders of Helania may wear the crown, but everyone knows who is responsible for the peace and prosperity the countryside now enjoys.
But the Alders take the honor and restraint of the Buckland patriarch, William, for submission and fear. They poke, prod, and slight the family at every turn, determined to assert their dominance over a dragon.
His own sons, however, are determined to find trouble everywhere they go. Forbidden loves, alcohol, cocaine and blood feuds are a recipe for disaster and tragedy, and it follows the Buckland bloodline like a plague.
One day soon, though, the Alders of Helania will push William and his family too far, and they will rue the day they woke the sleeping dragon. William's sons must travel to the farthest reaches of the known world, from mountain kingdoms to the frozen wilderness of the north--but they never could have guessed the horrors that awaited them.
The Alders are only the beginning.