A new novel in the popular and exciting science fiction Liaden
Universe(R) series. Over a half million Liaden Universe(R) books sold
with an audience that keeps growing!
Beset by the angry remnants of the Department of the Interior,
challenged at every turn by opportunists on their new homeworld of
Surebleak, and somewhat low on funds, Clan Korval desperately needs to
reestablish its position as one of the top trading clans in known space.
To this end, Master Trader Shan yos'Galan, aboard Korval's premier trade
ship, Dutiful Passage, is on a mission to establish new business
associations and to build a strong primary route that links well with
existing Loops and secondary routes.
But reestablishing trade and preserving the lives of the few remaining
members of the clan aren't all of Korval's problems. Matters come to a
head as Dutiful Passage, accustomed to being welcomed and feted at
those ports on its call list, finds itself denied docking and
blacklisted while agents of the DOI mount armed attacks on others of
Korval's traders under the very eyes of port security systems.
Traveling with Dutiful Passage on this unsettling journey is Padi
yos'Galan, the master trader's heir and his apprentice. Padi is eager to
make up for time lost due to Korval's unpleasantness with the Department
of the Interior. She is also keeping a secret so intense that her coming
of age, and perhaps her very life, is threatened by it.
