Whoever said, "the pen is mightier than the sword," had obviously never encountered high-powered energy weapons.

The Deannan Uncivil war was in full swing, and the fascists appeared to hold all the aces. All that stood in their way was the Loyalist Militia: a lot of angry locals who wanted their abducted friends and relatives back, didn't like to be told how to live their lives, and most importantly—could handle a blaster a little.

Among them, were retired military veterans who'd seen action in nearly every Terran military conflict over the last half-century—men and women who'd already tried to forget most of the things the young, well-equipped, and smartly drilled fascists had yet to learn for themselves. As well as being the Chair of the Skeggs Valley Dynamite Fishing Club, the elderly General Albert McIntyre-Smythe (recently un-retired) had been put in charge of the Militia on Deanna.

Fortunately, the Militia was not alone in the fight—together with the Vampire Underground—consisting of real, actual vampires—the Resistance, Deanna's criminal underworld, and the unique loderunner Celeste and its eccentric crew, Deanna stood fairly united against the fascist menace.

Even so, Smythe harbored no doubts that civil war was an ugly business—it was in essence, a family feud with blasters—and there was no question that Deanna wasn't going to be torn to shreds in the process. The only question left was: Could it be put back together again?