?Not even the Church of the Invincible Sun is invincible - and somebody has to do its dirty work. Enter Sister Svangerd and her accompanying priest, both accomplished practitioners. Their mission is simple: to make a meddlesome princess disappear (permanently).<p></p><p></p>To get to her, they must attend the legendary Ecumenical Council, the once-in-a-century convening of the greatest spiritual minds the world has to offer. But when they arrive, they find instead a den of villainy that would make the most hardened criminal blush. <p></p><p></p>To complicate matters further, it appears that some people long considered dead might not be after all. What began as a simple murder is about to escalate into a theological debate of terrifying complexity.<p></p><p></p>From World Fantasy Award-winning author K. J. Parker comes a devilishly clever tale of murder, intrigue, and existential crisis.