Whether it was a blessed miracle or a disastrous catastrophe, the arrival of Grantville in Europe in the year 1631 created changes that are long-lasting and spreading wider and wider as time passes. In 1634, Louis DeGeer—statesman, merchant, and player of the game of princes—having extracted as much information and technology as he could out of Grantville, makes his move to establish a new state in the Rhineland, a republic that would draw on much of the political philosophy brought back t...

Who is Colette du Bois, why does Louis de Geer care about her, and what is her connection to Crucibellus? As the ripples of the Ring of Fire event continue to spread through Europe, new opportunities are created, new possibilities arise, and new destinies appear. Louis has a vision of one of those destinies, one that will change the Rhineland forever, but it will take some of the knowledge brought back from the future in Grantville to make it possible. And the perception, strength, and ski...