Rear Admiral Michelle Henke was commanding one of the ships in a force led
by Honor Harrington in an all-out space battle. The odds were against the Star
Kingdom forces, and they had to run. But Michelle's ship was crippled, and
had to be destroyed to prevent superior Manticoran technology from falling into
Havenite hands, and she and her surviving crew were taken prisoner. Much to her
surprise, she was repatriated to Manticore, carrying a request for a summit
conference between the leaders of the two sides which might end the war. But a
condition of her return was that she gave her parole not to fight against the
forces of the Republic of Haven until she had been officially exchanged for a
Havenite prisoner of war, so she was given a command far away from the
war's battle lines. What she didn't realize was that she would find
herself on a collision course, not with a hostile government, but with the
interstellar syndicate of criminals known as Manpower. And Manpower had its own
plans for eliminating Manticore as a possible threat to its lucrative slave
trade - deadly plans which remain hidden in the shadows.