A small-time smuggler, Antal lives on the fringes of society in a minor backwater port somewhere in the Empire. While not exactly a cruel man he isn’t a saint and has his own issues with lust and revenge. He’s happy with how his life is going but outside forces, including the mysterious and dangerous Herceg and a bevy of women seem bound and determined to screw with it. Not a sequel to the story Ascension but comes from the same universe and a few of the characters overlap here and there.