The Hound Bridget ban has vanished and the Kennel (the mysterious superspyagency) has given up looking for her. But her daughter, the harper Mearana, hasnot, and she has convinced the scarred man, Donovan, to aid in her search.But Donovan’s mind has been shattered by Those of Name, the rulers of theConfederacy, and no fewer than seven quarreling personalities now inhabit hisskull. How can he hope to see Mearana safely through her quest?Together, they follow Bridget ban’s trail to the raw worlds of the frontier,edging ever closer to the de-civilized and barbarian planets of the Wild. Alongthe way, they encounter evidence that they too are being followed—by a deadlyagent of Those of Name.From BooklistOn the harper Mearana’s home planet, up JimRiver is a saying indicating a journey ever further into danger and theunknown. Mearana’s mother, Bridget ban, has disappeared on mysterious business.Even the Kennel, her employer and one of the galaxy’s two sources of secretagents, didn’t know what she was looking for or where she went. Mearana isdetermined, though, to discover her mother’s fate. She manages to convince thescarred man, the Fudir, who was once Donovan but became six or sevenpersonalities after a botched experiment by Those of Name, to join her out of asense of nostalgia. The worlds inhabited by these people are sufficient reasonto read the novel. The extrapolations of linguistic drift and remnants ofancient history that Flynn conjures constitute a fascinating story inthemselves. Adding to them a tense and thrilling search from the bar on Jehovahto the very Wild itself, through strange cultures and dangerous ports, justmakes the book all the more engaging.