Miles Vorkosigan arrives on the Barrayaran colony planet Komarr to investigate the destruction of a freighter which has crashed into the orbital mirror display - a mechanism vital to the planet's long-term terraforming program. Miles's emperor, Gregory, is about to marry a Komarran princess, and relations between the empire and its possession must remain smooth.
Lois McMaster Bujold uses all her Hugo and Nebula award-winning skills to intertwine the investigation with Miles's fascination for his hostess, a Barrayaran whose husband is a bureaucrat in the terraforming project. They appear to become parts of the same problem, as Miles finds both lives and a planet's survival at stake . . .
