In a future one thousand years from now, an echo of the Victorian past thrives. A future terraformed Venus sees our era of high technology as one of innumerable dangers. Dominated by the most advanced technological society on the planet, New Berlin, the nation and city-states of Venus deliberately imitate both the technology and culture of the Victorian Era. As nations chafe under the yoke of New Berlin, war breaks out--driving this culture so much like our past into a future entirely unlike our own.

This short-story anthology explores the regions and cultures of Victorian Venus, from the metropolis of New Berlin, to the tropics, to the Arctic Circle. The war between New Berlin and two rebelling nations forms the backdrop of most of the tales.