The protagonist of Enemy Glory is Llewellyn, who was raised in Sunnashiven, where magic is bent to the needs of the state. Socialism, run by the priestly caste, controls food production. The leaders lie about the wars on its borders to rally the support of the people.

After training as a mage, including the requisite sealing of his powers to the state, Llewellyn becomes involved in a political act that causes him to flee Sunnashiven and live in a neighboring kingdom. This unnamed kingdom appears to be based on a small-government libertarian model. A king and a couple of dukes run the place, but they can be deposed if the ruled classes are dissatisfied.

Lewellyn is taught magic by the people who took him in, but this doesn't make him a nice guy. Llewellyn wants power over others, and the means for him is magic. Over and over Llewellyn tries to do the right thing for the wrong motives, but his plans fall in ruins and he doesn't understand why people are hurt. Later he outgrows this and accepts his evil path until the events in the next book occur. I wish this had been a series composed of standalone books instead of a book that was cut from a longer work.

Enemy Glory contains several fun things for libertarian readers: a roleplaying dialogue using Objectivist tropes and a long satire on higher education are among them.