Fox and Empire is set twenty years after the events of Werenight. When the novel opens, Gerin the Fox is preparing for war against his neighbor, Aragis the Archer. Upon reaching the frontier, however, Gerin and Aragis find themselves allied against a resurgent Elabonian empire. The situation is complicated by the appearance of Ferdulf, a demigod fathered by the Sithonian god of wine Mavrix on one of Gerin's serfs. Ferdulf is only four years old, by much more knowledgable and powerful than a child and well aware of his divinity.