When the Cetagandan empress dies, Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan are sent to Cetaganda for her funeral as diplomatic representatives of Barrayar. Upon arriving, both men are inexplicably attacked with a servant of the late empress. When the same servant arises dead the next day, Mls and Ivan end up caught in the middle of a mystery.

Miles attempts to play detective inside a strange, complicated, and deceptively alien lifestyle, even though lascivious Ivan manages to get himself involved with several noble females at exactly the same time, a diplomatic no-no from the first order. As the storyline thickens, it becomes apparent that it’s up to Mls to save the empire.

With her usual skill, Bujold addresses timeless issues of human identity through the non-public dramas of her characters.