The tyrannical Alliance continues its war against the Republic of
Cinnabar, and Daniel Leary, newly promoted to Commander, and his crew
have a new mission: stop Dunbar's World from falling to an invasion by
the planet Pellegrino. Nataniel Arruns, son of the dictator of
Pellegrino, has landed with a large contingent, intending to set himself
up as the ruling warlord, with the planet's population becoming serfs of
the Pellegrinian overlords. And Dunbar's world has no more than their
local police force to oppose him.
Leary again commands the corvette Princess Cecile, but on this mission
her missile tubes are empty. Only one man is in a position to aid Leary,
but the rich and powerful would rather see him fail than succeed in
stopping the invasion. Leary must somehow overcome a large entrenched
force on an island defended by powerful plasma cannon and shipkilling
missiles and backed up by a heavily armed warship in orbit, all while
commanding only a small and virtually unarmed spacecraft.
But Leary again has the help of Signals Officer Adele Mundy, who can
make computer networks do the apparently impossible. Leary, Mundy, and
the crew of the Princess Cecile have gone up against impossible odds
before, and their opponents in those victorious missions are still
wondering just what hit them.
