Orphaned by war yet blessed by the gods, the slave-girl Tisiphone is chosen to become an assassin for the Greek Empire of the North. Fighting her way up from the slave pits, Tisiphone is given to the scarred warrior, Chloe, to train. The seasoned warrior prepares Tisiphone the only way Chloe knows: with the lash, with blood, with fear that must be conquered. For if Tisiphone is to stand with her sister Furies against the barbarian horde that threatens the Empire, she must be made to be like bronze: razor-sharp and unbending. But Tisiphone's heart will not be turned to ice. Tisiphone tempers war with love; for her sister Furies, for a man, perhaps even for undeserving Chloe herself.