We left our story in 1518.  Diego Velasquez de Cuellar is the governor of Cuba and de facto the most powerful man in Spain’s New World colonies, and he’s brought the business of conquest under his control. He’s set his sights on the Yucatan, a peninsula to the west of Cuba which, unbeknownst to him, is just the tip of iceberg. But Velazquez has a problem.  He needs people who are capable, experienced, and wealthy to lead a series of expeditions he hopes will end with him at the head of a new phase of conquest and expansion. . He also needs men who are loyal to him to stick to the plan. After the first expedition ends in disaster, the second expedition under Juan de Grijalva has made contact with emissaries from the long-rumored powerful king from a great city to the west. Now, against the advice of his closest lieutenants, he’s tapped Hernan Cortés to lead the third expedition, a decision he would soon regret. Meanwhile, in Tenochtitlan, Moctezuma learns of these mysterious strangers from beyond the the great ocean probing the eastern coast of Mexico, and he begins taking steps to engage them.