With the return of the Eternal Emperor, Sten enters service as diplomat plenipotentiary, trying to help keep the Empire together, even in the intrinsically fractious Altaic Cluster. But there's rottenness both in the Imperial chosen leaders and in the core of the Empire itself, putting Sten between a moral rock and a genocidal hard place.

Good combo of SF military fantasy, guerrilla/revolutionary fiction, and continuing the narrative of what makes for an eternal empire ... and what can bring it down.