Cast out of his Moscow home, Daniil Arkadyovich Levin arrives in the small Siberian town of Kurgan at the dawn of the 19th Century. Formerly the strong arm of his father's trading business, he uses his knowledge and money to establish himself as the village's lord and protector. Soon, he finds himself in over his head as a mysterious series of murders terrorizes Kurgan and the town leaders look to him for answers.

Daniil finds refuge in the arms of a beautiful servant girl, who understands his brutality like no one he has ever met before. But he is destined for another time and another place, for he will become something more than human: the Gospel of Discipline.

Two hundred years later, Daniel Levin is the mayor of Unified St. Louis, and again finds his city shaken by the appearance of a stranger, a mysterious woman named Kait Selias. She is an immortal, like the six Gospels who rule the city, but she also holds a power that makes her more dangerous than anything Levin has ever faced before. Kait threatens the balance of power in St. Louis, and her presence risks destroying everything Levin has worked for since his days as the lord of Kurgan.

Daniel must convince Kait that he is not her enemy before she chooses to side with the forces of chaos who have opposed him for centuries.

The second novella in the Hearts of Amaranth series.