For the most part, the story is a high fantasy in which three chiefs of Demonland—Lord Juss, Spitfire, and Brandoch Daha—embark on a heroic quest to rescue the fourth lord from his imprisonment in the mountains of Impland. However, at the end, Queen Sophonisba undertakes a resolution to the final problem that could well involve time travel.

Take a pair of time-hopping con artists looking for their next mark. Add a naïve and incredibly rich young scientist waiting to be fleeced. Stir together in the volatile political atmosphere of Roman-occupied Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion. The result: a wickedly entertaining blend of screwball comedy and biting social satire from one of science fiction’s most honored authors.