Synopsis: From the back cover of the Baen first edition: "Magic and Gunpowder don't mix... or do they? The Russians are pushing south into the Hindu Kush, expanding their Empire at the expense of the forgotten tribes that surround the British Raj. Little did they expect such resistance as they found in the fabled city of Gandhara. Little did they expect the fables to be real. Just as little did the wisewomen of Gandhara expect their system of protection to begin to fail them after millennia of effective defense. But the Russians' new weapons don't seem to care much about magic, and the Gandharans realize they must fight fire with fire. Young Tamai, whose rebellious curiosity had cost her her place in the priesthood, is sent into the Raj to somehow acquire the fabled Martini-Henry rifles. Little did the wisewomen expect the fables to be real..."