Sage has one last trick up his sleeve that he will need to save both his life and his country. He makes tentative allies of Mott the henchman and the mute servant girl Imogen, but the competition between the boys soon becomes fierce and bloody. Sage’s cunning and street smarts give him an advantage over the others, but his propensity for causing trouble makes him a less-than-ideal puppet for Connor. And though winning means living a perpetual lie, the cruel end of Latimer leaves no question about the fate of the two who are not chosen. In the coming two weeks, Sage, Roden, and Tobias must learn as much as they can and compete to win the role of the false prince. The recent deaths of the king, queen and crown prince have been kept secret so far, and Connor has only two weeks to train his “prince” before their deaths are made public and the prime regent Veldergrath makes his move for the throne. He needs a boy to impersonate the young Prince Jaron, who has been missing and presumed dead after his ship was attacked by pirates years ago. Sage and the other two boys realize that they have no choice but to play Connor’s game, the nature of which is revealed to them after their arrival at his grand estate. When the boy Latimer asks to be taken home, he is killed by Connor’s henchman, revealing how deadly and untrustworthy Connor is. At a stop for the night on the way to Connor’s estate, Connor tells the boys that he needs their help in a dangerous plan, and that if any of them want to leave, now is the time to do it. Sage is knocked unconscious after resisting, waking to find himself in a wagon along with three other orphan boys who look just like him. Sage returns to his orphanage after a successful bout of thievery one day to find Connor waiting for him, having bought him to become an indentured servant, or so he says. But can a crude, feisty street urchin succeed in impersonating a prince? Sage, a penniless orphan and thief, gets caught up in Connor’s plan and must agree to his role or face death. The regent Bevin Connor has a plan to restore peace to the kingdom involving a fraud designed to fool the entire country. With the royal family of Carthya dead, civil war threatens the country as nobles vie for the empty throne.

Winscan reviews