When a scrawny unwanted girl is sold into slavery, a chain of events is set in motion that will have a profound impact on all the civilized world.

Hekat is taken in chains to Mijak's largest city, home of the warlord Raklion. She is sold into his service and learns all she can about power - its wielding and its uses - as she fetches and carries and cleans and serves. She grows into a beautiful woman, and through ambition and manipulation Hekat becomes powerful enough to take over the rulership of Mijak ... and then sets about making it into the greatest Empire ever known.