Protect it at all costs.  That's what rugby player Hunter Best's mother told him before she died. But when Hunter surprises an intruder in his Chicago apartment, he discovers her amulet stolen. Hunter pursues the thief--all the way through a strange vortex. He wakes in a bizarre and violent world, a benighted realm on the threshold of civil war.  The queen has become a ruthless tyrant, punishing any who oppose her, weakening the kingdom's defenses against the brutal Henerans. To survive, Hunter must depend on the man who robbed him, a handsome former spy named Dax, now a leader of the resistance that believes the queen is an imposter--a Heneran disguised by magic... who also looks identical to Hunter's mother.  There's no love lost between Hunter and Dax, and even if Hunter grudgingly agrees with the resistance, he just wants to reclaim his property and go home. But he might be the only one who can oppose the queen and end her reign of terror.