The Empire of Erida is a global superpower that rules through absolute theocratic monarchy, its subjects believing their ruler is a living god. After the late Emperor launched a genocidal campaign against the Confederation of Ghala — a coalition of provinces that seceded for liberal reform — millions were slaughtered in a war of purification. The old Emperor's sudden death has left a power vacuum now filled by his heir, who holds absolute authority over the largest nation on the planet.

Yulia Sorovoroka is a 34-year-old ombudsman from the dying Ghala Confederation, a pale, grey-eyed woman with copper-brown hair whose once-cheerful spirit has been eroded by years of war. She spent eight years building Ghala's human rights infrastructure before the Empire's atrocities decimated her people. Now she has traveled to the Imperial capital to negotiate prisoner exchanges and humanitarian aid, desperate to stop the genocide while refusing to trust the new Emperor of Erida.