The local vintner Dioscorides desperately wants to become the village headman when Old Man Aeops passes. But Dios' rival, the landlord Marsakos Thanos, seeks the position as well, and Thanos has an ancient Lineage to back up his claim. When a foreign kazarim and his five identical brothers arrive during the Summer Market Festival, Dios discovers that he may have more to contend with than a jealous rival: the very existence of the village may be in danger.