My name is Caelin Morrow, and I run the internal affairs bureau for the entire Commonwealth Rim Sector. It means I hunt down corrupt federal officials of all stripes — police, military, political or bureaucratic — in the most fractious and nowadays most dangerous part of human space.

I also examine the private and professional lives of Constabulary officials destined for senior positions, to make sure they’re not hiding a habit of taking bribes, abusing their powers, or worse. Assistant Commissioner Elden Braband, newly appointed as chief of police on Mission Colony, is one of the latter, and I had declared him squeaky clean. When the colony’s governor complains about Braband a few months after his arrival, Deputy Chief Constable Maras, who commands the Rim Sector Constabulary Group, smells a rat. She asks me to investigate because honest cops don’t go bad within a few months.

But hours after my team and I land on Mission Colony, a senior official is found dead in her office, leaving Assistant Commissioner Braband in a bind. The subsequent investigation will propel us into the heart of colonial darkness where corruption, organized crime, and corporate malfeasance combine in a deadly brew.