"The United States of Europe, the new nation formed by an alliance between Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus and the West Virginians hurled back in time, need a reliable source of opiates for those wounded in action, as well as other goods not available in Europe. USE prime minister Mike Stearns sends a mission to the Mughal Empire of India with the aim of securing a trade deal with the emperor, Shah Jahan. Consisting of both up-timers and down-timers they arrive to find a grieving emperor obsessed with building the Taj Mahal, the emperor's sons plotting against each other and a war brewing with the newly risen Sikh faith. In the midst of all this they find an ally: brilliant Jahanara Begum, eldest daughter of Shah Jahan and a power in her own right. She wishes to learn more of these women who are free in a way she can scarcely comprehend"--