As the slave masters of Mesa plot against the Star Empire of Manticore and the recently liberated slave planet Torch, Anton Zilvitsky and famed Havenite secret agent Victor Kasha embark on a dangerous journey to unearth the truth about the wave of mysterious murders that have befallen Manticore and the Torch. Most are convinced that the Haven Republic is behind these crimes, but Zilwicki and Kasha suspect that other people are to blame. Torch Queen Berry was one of the targets of unknown assassins. The former head of Ballroom, an organization of freed slaves, Jeremy Ax - now one of the highest officials of the Torch, but still perceived by many as the most dangerous terrorist in the galaxy - appeals to the people who owed him time. As a result, a specialist from Beowulf arrives at the Torch to head up Queen Berry's security... a task doubly difficult due to the young monarch's reluctance to have bodyguards, and the officer's own growing affection for her. Meanwhile, in the Solar League, powerful forces are pitted against each other intrigues to gain an advantage in the conditions of the violent crisis they all expected, which will threaten the very existence of the League.