The Broker's GambitWhen a simple shipping invoice leads to continental conspiracy, a warehouse clerk must choose between safety and justice.Rhowan Cade thought he was investigating a billing error. Three hundred and forty crowns for fish waste seemed excessive, even by territorial standards. But when his curiosity about Canton Cusk processing leads him from the frozen docks of North York to the corridors of continental power, he discovers that some anomalies are worth killing for.Information is currency. Knowledge is power. And some secrets are worth a war.The invoice was just the beginning. Behind the shipping manifests and bureaucratic paperwork lies a network of systematic operations that treats human beings as raw materials. Enhancement programs that turn children into weapons. Financial coordination that corrupts territorial governors. Research applications that make entire families disappear.Now the network wants him.Recruited by the enigmatic Vanessa Kaine, Rhowan finds himself thrust into a shadow war between those who would capture democratic institutions and those willing to fight for them. From information broker to continental operative, from shipping clerk to political player-if he can survive the education.But in a world where enhanced individuals hunt in the shadows and ministers manipulate from marble halls, survival means choosing sides. And some choices change you into someone you might not recognize.The most dangerous investigations are the ones that start with simple questions.The Broker's Gambit is the fifth volume in The Palisade Journals, exploring the political networks and hidden operations that shape the Blood & Steel universe. A standalone story of political thriller meets personal transformation, where curiosity leads to conspiracy and information becomes the deadliest weapon of all.Perfect for readers who enjoy: Political thrillers with complex world-buildingCharacter-driven stories of transformationConspiracy plots with personal stakesRich fantasy universes with modern sensibilities"Sometimes the most important fights are the ones that change you into someone you might not recognize afterward."