This installment of the stories of being a Brimtier Pirate in the twenty third century is much to do with pride, being bolstered and bruised. It delves into the pride of pirate captain Iain Bryce, his quartermaster and his crew, as well as those of a couple of other pirate captains, their best fence, someone Iain Bryce considers a friend and a confederational Regime officer. This one was a tough one for Captain Bryce put into words and onto paper. He feels like a lot of it was written in blood, and not all of it his own, and feels like a lot of it is on him. That phrase has haunted Gryphon Blake for thirty-four years. He had convinced himself it was only in his head; then he learns it has also haunted many others. All of whom are now either sick or dead. Is a mutated virus the cause of the rapidly climbing death toll or something else? Callie Summers, a supposed psychic and another haunted by the phrase, says Gryphon is the key. The man of science finds all his beliefs and convictions being tested. Can he figure out what is really happening before he loses everything?