Cade infiltrates a Red Flag competition at West Point military academy, where choice candidates are groomed for government leadership.

Quatrain 18, Century 10: "The town will not ring its cracked bell for the hero has gone astray / The crimson banner lures the one and the many / With each victory so will victory undo".

Treachery is afoot amongst the acolytes on Earth and Joshua is enlisted to ferret out the traitors.