Master and Commander in space! Brilliant and brave starship captain Daniel Leary and ace spy Adele Mundy confront a pirate plot and once again save the Republic of Cinnabar despite itself. #9 in the national best selling RCN space adventure series. Captain Daniel Leary with his friend-and spy-Officer Adele Mundy are sent to a quiet sector to carry out an easy task: helping the local admiral put down a coup before it takes place. But then the jealous admiral gets rid of them by sending them off on a wild goose chase to a sector where commerce is king and business is carried out by extortion and gunfights. With anarchy and rebellion in the air, a rogue intelligence officer plots the war that will destroy civilization and enlists the help of a brute whom even torturers couldn't stomach. And, of course, it's up to Leary and Mundy to put a stop to the madness. About David Drake's previous RCN novel, What Distant Deeps: "Drake deftly weaves a web of political machinations and intrigue that vividly depicts the costs of war. Fans of Patrick O'Brian's Maturin and Aubrey novels will enjoy this intricate, rousing space opera." -Publishers Weekly About David Drake's RCN series: "[R]ousing old-fashioned space opera." -Publishers Weekly "The fun is in the telling, and Mr. Drake has a strong voice. I want more!" -Philadelphia Weekly Press "[S]pace opera is alive and well. This series is getting better as the author goes along...character development combined with first-rate action and memorable world designs." -SFReader.com About David Drake: "[P]rose as cold and hard s the metal alloy of a tank...rivals Crane and Remarque..." -Chicago Sun-Times "Drake couldn't write a bad action scene at gunpoint." -Booklist