A fascinating space opera from the diplomatic circles of a distant galaxy. Ambassador Mahit Dzmare, upon arriving at the center of the interstellar Teixcalan Empire, discovers that her predecessor, the former ambassador of a small but passionately independent mining station, is dead. However, no one wants to admit that his death was not accidental — nor that in the period of instability that has recently engulfed the highest echelons of the imperial court, Mahit may be next in line. Mahit must uncover who is behind the murder, protect her station from the predatory expansion of Teixcalan, and survive. She navigates a foreign culture that offers too many temptations, plays her own intrigues, and hides a dangerous technical secret that could herald the station's demise and way of life — or save it from destruction.
