The Pretender Emperor

Klem Shaw acts in short dramas until an accident puts him in the empire of Argentea, in the body of a stand-in for the Emperor. The real Emperor has been driven out of the palace by the Empress Dowager, and Klem is pushed out in front of the court in his place. He plays the fool to stay alive, but the Empress Dowager is not satisfied with a puppet and moves to take the court's authority for herself. Cornered, Klem falls back on what he did for a living and performs the Emperor so convincingly that he is harder to doubt than the man himself. He wins over ministers and generals one at a time and turns the balance around, and he is close to bringing the Empress Dowager down when word arrives that the real Emperor has come back.