The People's Republic of Haven made a tiny mistake when it announced the
execution of Honor Harrington. It seemed safe enough. After all, she was
already dead. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Now Honor has escaped from
the prison planet called Hell and returned to the Manticoran Alliance
with a few friends. Almost half a million of them, to be precise
including some who know what really happened when the Committee of
Public Safety seized power in the PRH. Honor's return from the dead
comes at a critical time, providing a huge, much-needed lift for the
Allies' morale, for the war is rapidly entering a decisive phase. Both
sides believe that victory lies within their grasp at last, but dangers
no one could foresee await them both. New weapons, new strategies, new
tactics, spies, diplomacy, and assassination all are coming into deadly
focus, and Honor Harrington, the woman the newsies call "the
Salamander," once more finds herself at the heart of them all. But this
time, the furnace may be too furious for even a salamander to survive.