"Cruise ship Queen of the Sea has been accidentally transported from the modern-day present to the ancient Mediterranean not long after the death of Alexander the Great. Now Captain Lars Floden and the other Ship People attempt to plant the seeds of 21st-century civilization in the distant past. Althought they have alliances among the locals, upstart her Cassander is using foul leans to claim Macedonia and Greece, brutal general Antigonus One-Eye...

"The newly formed United States of Europe, created by an alliance between the time-displaced Americans from the town of Grantville and the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, decides to send an embassy to the Chinese empire. One of the main purposes of the embassy is to establish trade in order to gain access to critical resources. The mission is a gamble--some might say, a long shot. The Ming dynasty is on the verge of collapse and China's rulers are...

"The Ottoman Empire has captured Vienna and is now laying siege to the Austrian government in exile. Both the United States of Europe and the Kingdom of Bohemia have come to Austria's assistance but everyone knows it is going to be a long, brutal struggle. General Mike Stearns proposes opening up a second front in the Levant which the USE's emperor Gustavus Adolphus approves. Meanwhile, Poland is coming to a boil. Gretchen Richter, newly elected chancellor...