Here, in 1996, Brust uses his fantasy world to foreshadow the financial crash of 2008. This book is eerily prescient on the details of this. The protagonists involvement in the financial shenanigans begins because he needs to help a widow keep her home so that she can cure the peasant boy who suffered in killing the undead sorcerer in the last book. So, small beginnings. The delight of this book is how these ostensibly small beginnings keep expanding into a plot that threatens to shake the financial foundations of the fantasy Empire of these books. As usual, Brust uses an interesting framing device to tell his tale and this one keeps you gripped from start to finish. A definite recommend.