The young and arrogant prince Maxim Maresh, having faced the terror of the Pirate Queen, now aims to capture the respect of the combative port town of Verose - by taking the impossible challenges of the Night of Knives ... and surviving, where none has survived before! These are the hidden, secret adventures of Maxim, from long before he became the king of Red London and adoptive father to Kell, the leader of A Darker Shade of Magic.