From New York Times bestselling author James Luceno comes an
all-new Star Wars adventure that reveals the action and intrigue
unfolding directly before Episode I The Phantom Menace.**
Mired in greed and corruption, tangled in bureaucracy, the Galactic
Republic is crumbling. In the outlying systems, where the Trade
Federation maintains a stranglehold on shipping routes, tensions are
boiling over--while back in the comfort of Coruscant, the hub of
civilized space and seat of the Republic government, few senators seem
inclined to investigate the problem. And those who suspect Supreme
Chancellor Valorum of having a hand in the machinations are
baffled--especially when Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice
Obi-Wan Kenobi foil an assassination attempt on the Chancellor.
With the crisis escalating, Valorum calls for an emergency trade summit.
As humans and aliens gather, conspiracies sealed with large sums of
money run rampant, and no one is entirely above suspicion. But the
greatest threat of all remains unknown to everyone except three members
of the Trade Federation who have entered into a shadowy alliance with a
dark overlord. While the trio will be content with more money and fewer
problems, Darth Sidious has grander, far more terrifying plans.
It is a time that tests the mettle of all those who strive to hold the
Republic together--none more so than the Jedi Knights, who have long
been the galaxy's best hope for preserving peace and justice. Yet
despite their most valiant efforts, the meeting will explode into fiery
chaos beyond everyone's worst fears . . .
