It's a bad day for Thraxas when he's fined in court, then threatened by two old enemies – Rittius, head of Palace Security, and Glixius Dragon killer, a very unfriendly sorcerer. Thraxas is hired by his old army commander to locate a missing painting but everything goes wrong when the commander ends up dead. Thraxas finds himself embroiled in a murder enquiry when really all he wants to be doing is gambling at the chariot races. At the stadium, Thraxas and Makri are obliged to assist an Orc lord when his chariot is sabotaged, and helping an Orc lord does nothing for their reputation. Turai plunges into despair as the unending rain threatens to wash the city away. With the climate, the authorities and a cunning murderer all ranged against him, can Thraxas solve his case, and, just as importantly, emerge from the chariot races with a healthy profit? This is a new edition, with an introduction by the author.