Mercenary, thief, soldier, usurper...CONAN OF CIMMERIAAs sword for hire for a mercenary troop, Conan finds himself in Sukhmet, a filthy backwater town south of the River Styx considered "the arse-end of Stygia." Serving in the company known as Zarallo's Free Companions, he fights alongside soldiers of fortune from Zingara, Koth, Shem, and other lands-a hard-handed band of killers loyal to anyone who pays them well.In a Sukhmet tavern he encounters one soldier in particular-Valeria of the Red Brotherhood, a veteran of freebooters with whom Conan also sailed, launching raids out of the Barachan Isles on the Western Sea. Valeria's reputation is that of a deadly swordswoman, a notoriety she quickly proves to be accurate. When she runs afoul of an exiled Stygian noble, however, things take a deadly turn, embroiling them both in the schemes of a priest of the serpent god Set.The first new Conan novel in more than a decade, Blood of the Serpent leads directly into one of Robert E. Howards's most famous sword-and-sorcery adventures, "Red Nails." As a bonus feature that story, as well, is included in this volume.