The novel has a humorous tone similar to William Goldman's The Princess Bride — quite different from Barnes' usual science fiction.

Amatus, the prince, manages to swig down a significant amount of the Wine of the Gods, and his entire left half vanishes.

His father, the normally gentle King Boniface, orders the executions of the four people responsible for this travesty—the maid, the alchemist, the witch, and the captain of the guard—and then begins the long and arduous process of interviewing to fill these four positions.

The novel is written with playful malapropisms: Barnes takes unusual English words and uses them with utterly different meanings.

Characters wear swashes, in which they keep their dueling pismires; and meet in small drinking establishments known as taborets and stupors.