Zealous and uncompromising, Inquisitor Torquemada Coteaz is the scourge of cultist and daemon alike, striking fear into the hearts of the Emperor's foes. As lord inquisitor and High Protector of the Formosa Sector, he wields terrible power, able to purge entire systems of the taint of Chaos and heresy, with a legion of agents and interrogators at his disposal. But the long decades of horrors are taking their toll, and his body is reaching the limits of endurance. When sinister tidings from a forgotten corner of the sector hint at spectres from his past, Coteaz must face a terrible choice: abandon his throne to those who covet it, or cling to power by shattering the very bounds of mortality. Yet there are other forces at work in the darkness, and should Coteaz succumb to their alluring power, billions will fall with him.