He had always had a soft spot for her, even before he knew that a boy could love a girl. In prison for murdering her husband, Masha is certain that she will be sold to a slaver and shipped off to a foreign land to live her days in servitude. So when the jailer comes to get her, she is surprised that the white-blonde, broad-shouldered warrior who has paid her bail is not a slaver but her ex-best friend Dir - a man whose heart she broke years ago. Dir needs Masha's help in looking for a magical crown. The Princess of Vecherny is offering a large sum of money to whoever finds the crown; and Dir wants to pay his way out of poverty. And if Masha doesn't help him find the crown, Dir will reveal Masha's closest-held secret - a secret even more dangerous than murder. Each book in the Ruthenian Chronicle can be read as a standalone.