Imagine a world where the women outnumber the men 30 to one. Where men are a valuable and protected resource and a family's fortune depends on the number of boys they've been able to throw and the price their males command.

Jerin Whistler comes from a line of thieves, farmers, soldiers and spies. But there's royal blood in his linage, too. His grandmothers managed to kidnap a royal prince on one of their wild outings and brought him home to marry. Jerin's mothers succeeded in producing four sons, providing unimaginable wealth and status for the family. Four boys means Jerin's sisters can trade him to another family and procure a husband for themselves, or sell him for his "brother's price," which in Jerin's case could be considerable. A beautiful, chaste young man descended from Queens, Jerin and his younger brothers are highly desirable. And their sisters protect them well.

When a stranger is wounded on their land, Jerin flaunts propriety and rescues the pretty young woman from a certain death. Soon after, the woman's kinswomen appear and the family discovers the woman they've sheltered is the princess Odelia. Odelia's sister and her escorts are invited to spend the night. The Whistler sisters keep Jerin separated from the guests, but late that night, the eldest princess, Ren, comes upon him in the kitchen and all but seduces him on his mother's hearth. Jerin emerges with his virginity intact...barely. But when Ren leaves the farm the next day, Jerin's heart goes with her. He realizes that even though his family is landed gentry, the royals would never consider him as husband material.

When Ren leaves the Whistler farm, she fully intends to return and claim Jerin as husband for herself and her sisters. Ren is certain she can convince her sisters to sanction the marriage. Their mothers are another story. Despite his claim to royalty, Ren is certain her mothers will consider him common and beneath them. Still they allow Jerin to be brought to the palace under the guise that they'll be sponsoring his coming-out as a reward for saving Odelia's life. Jerin is stunned by the life of luxury in the palace that all of a sudden is his. Equally mind- numbing are the intrigues, schemes, backstabbing and even murderous plots that suddenly surround him. A dangerous place for a pretty and intelligent young man, and Jerin will need to keep his wits about him if he's to survive and be rewarded with his happily ever after.

Wen Spencer is a skilled storyteller and is able to carry off this "men as the weaker sex" plot device with no problem. The characters are sharply drawn and honestly depicted. All the pieces of the story come together perfectly. I'd hesitate to call it either a traditional fantasy or science fiction, even though it will be marketed that way. It's definitely not sci-fi. And as far as fantasy goes, there's not a mage, magician or fairy to be found. Nothing happens that couldn't happen in a human world. This is more an alternative world inhabited by plain old humans, with their human loves, lusts, dreams, schemes, strengths and weaknesses. As much as I loved TINKER last year and Spencer's Ukiah Oregon novels, I think I enjoyed this one more. She gets better and better with every book. I can't recommend this author highly enough.