However, events soon conspire to arouse her curiosity about this minor conflict. The region's power brokers are vying for control of Quadricale, site of the Knights' last stand. One of their number, the psychopath Nusek, wants to use Benny's archaeological skills to validate his claim to the planet. Meanwhile, someone is committing murders on the generally peaceful university campus, and the last actions of a dying man leave Benny with a rather ornate, obviously important statuette of a dragon. 

Are the Knights of Geneve more than a legend? Why is the warlord Nusek so desperate to secure Benny's services? And what does this all have to do with a mysterious alien obsessed with knowledge? In a world of secret societies, concealed motives and overly elaborate executions, Benny must divine the truth behind the propaganda - or become a footnote in the chronicles of a maniac's rise to power.