Flint, in explanation, has self-styled himself as something of a gambler[citation needed]; he demonstrated that by deliberately asking the other writers to share in creating the main threads and plot lines of the milieu so that this work and the large second full novel in the series, 1633, were written contemporaneously.

[citation needed] For a fuller precis on this interesting and historic literary development see Assiti Shards series.

The story focus on four former mercenaries who worked for Count Tilly before being exempted on good behavior and becoming horse traders in Grantville.

The same tale, from a different prospective was used as background for the entrance of Admiral John Simpson and wife Mary as they come on stage during the end of the industrial disaster that begins the novel 1634: The Baltic War.

As a continuation and perhaps climax of the Franz and Marla saga, the tale reveals Marla in a triumphal debut among the rich and famous in Magdeburg, while the lovable and tragic Franz finds a new musical groove—and is able to play again publicly — while, finally, proving worthy in his own eyes of "getting the girl".

Like the preceding Franz and Marla stories, it is an excellent tale told with skill and is good at evoking emotions and painting complex characters undergoing lives' pressures.

Set as a prequel to 1634: The Baltic War, the story focus on Eddie Cantrell, who was captured by the Danish in the confused aftermath the Battle of Wismar depicted in 1633, became involved with the daughter of Christian IV of Denmark.