"Swordplay, intrigue and friendships stonger than iron will sweep you up in a journey of swashbuckling fantasy in this first volume of the new Greatcoats series by bestselling author Sebastien de Castell. Damelas Chademantaigne is many things: a failed actor, a hopeless idealist and quite possibly the worst swordsman ever born! When his reckless attempt to rescue his grandfather from a duel pits him against the notorious fencer known as the Vixen, Damelas escapes by sneaking into the legendary Operato Belleza where the city's sacred historical plays are performed. But the stage soon becomes a dangerous battleground as Damelas finds himself inexplicably channeling the spirit of the infamous murderer Archduke Corbier and revealing long-buried secrets that could spark a rebellion. With half the city -- not to mention the Vixen -- plotting his death, Damelas must master his unusual abilities and solve a hundred-year-old mystery before a shadowy cabal sets his city aflame and puts his fellow actors to the sword." - (dust jacket)