Dejah Thoris, young and headstrong princess of the mighty empire of Helium, longs for a life of excitement and purpose beyond the cloistered walls of her royal palace. When a foreign ambassador arrives with an invitation to visit his city-state in hopes of fostering diplomatic relations, the princess defies the protests of her father and jed, traveling to the shadowy metropolis of Zor as Helium's emissary. But Dejah Thoris soon finds that her hosts are not like the gallant folk of Helium, and before she knows it, their nefarious machinations ensnare her in a tangled web of artifice, perfidy, and murder-and a treacherous plot that portends tragedy not only for her own family, but for the entire Heliumetic empire. Includes the bonus novella 'John Carter of Mars: Swords of the Mind' by Geary Gravel.
