women of the Royal First Irregulars are elite soldiers, skilled in their weapons of choice to the level of art. But the Royal First Irregulars aren't treated like elite soldiers, but as a traveling sideshow. Sent on a "morale tour", they're ordered to travel from base to base across the kingdom, using their skills only in staged performance, usually only to jeers and catcalls.

Life on tour brings opportunity, as Fredelle and the other Irregulars learn of a band of marauders attacking a village. They defy orders and go after the raiders, to prove once and for all just what they are capable of. But proving that becomes more of a test than they expected, and the cost to all of them will be higher than they bargained for.