As a 15-year-old, Parvin escaped her home planet of God's Victorious Warriors, when its repressive government executed the rest of her family.

Now living on the planet Universityworld, the former runaway teaches mathematics and is known as Professor Parvin Priddlikachorn. Her husband, Professor Siddithamon Priddikachorn, nicknamed Pretty, teaches planetary geology and hails from the planet Pradang. The couple have a 17-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter.

Parvin thinks the time is right to run for office, so she seeks a seat in the third house of a four-house planetary legislature. Her son and his girlfriend help with her campaign, but Pretty tries to discourage his wife's political ambitions.

It happens that Parvin's home world has a long-standing order of execution out on her. Universityworld is harboring a covert cell of its assassins, The Righteous Fists of God, which is headed by an officer in their planet's secret police. One of its crew, Neto, is enrolled as a student, but unknown to everyone is that his professor is the subject of their search.

Meanwhile, a controversial figure hopes to win control of the fourth house.

About the Author: Thomas Wm. Hamilton, a retired professor of astronomy and a planetarium director, also worked for three years on the Apollo Project. He has written six books on astronomy; this is his sixth book of fiction. The author is a Fellow of the International Planetarium Society and the namesake of asteroid 4897 Tomhamilton. He also served three terms as county chair of his political party. He lives with his wife and two very spoiled cats. His most recent novels are Scam Artists of the Galaxy and Altered Times, which asks "what if."