One year before the main story, Rohan is summoned by the Proprietor of the Devil’s Mercy, the hidden gambling club and shadow power that raised him. The Proprietor has taught Rohan to value knowledge, manipulation, and control, so Rohan refuses to ask why he has been called and instead deduces the purpose: succession.

The Proprietor confirms that he is dying and must name an heir by the end of the following year. Rohan believes inheriting the Mercy has always been his endgame, but the Proprietor makes clear that the position must be won. To qualify, Rohan must produce a ten-million-pound buy-in.

The challenge comes with severe restrictions: Rohan cannot earn the money through the Mercy, use its name, rely on leverage gained there, enter the club, or accept help from its members. Rohan must leave London within twenty-four hours and cannot return until he has the money. If he fails, the duchess will become the Proprietor’s heir instead.

Cut off from the only home and source of power he has known since childhood, Rohan wanders London looking for an opening. Outside a pub, he intervenes in a dog fight and helps a smaller, wolfish dog. From the pub’s television, Rohan hears that Avery Grambs’s first annual Grandest Game has ended with a seventeen-million-dollar prize.

The word “annual” gives Rohan the loophole he needs: Avery Grambs has never been a member of the Devil’s Mercy, so her competition may allow him to pursue the buy-in without violating the rules. Rohan enters the pub, orders a pint, food for the dog, and transportation out of London that night, beginning his exile with a plan.