Someone is trying to kill the royal heirs. For Boris, that's a problem. He's an offworld mercenary working on the isolated planet Dimonah as a royal bodyguard, and the young Prince and Princess are proving to have powerful enemies. His employers don't know about his covert work with the exile Hass, but the rebels are suspiciously well informed and it's not clear who he can trust. Keeping himself and the heirs alive is starting to look impossible, yet the fate of a world may depend on it. "Good, Gritty Science Fiction." "A strong action/adventure feel, likeable characters, and a coherent political thriller plot... enjoyably fast-paced... extremely accessible to a general readership as well as science fiction fans."