In 2003, Eric Flint and David Weber decided to continue the adventures of the Zilwicki family from the short stories From the Highlands and Fanatic. It should be noted that they MUST be read before starting this subseries to better understand the background and actions of certain characters. Synopsis: The Star Kingdom's ally Erewhon is growing increasingly restive in the alliance because the new High Ridge regime ignores its needs. Added the longstanding problem of a slave labor planet controlled by hostile Mesans in Erewhon's stellar back yard, which High Ridge refuses to deal with, is the recent assassination of the Solarian League's most prominent voice of public conscience indicates the growing danger of political instability in the Solarian League--which is also close to Erewhon. In desperation, Queen Elizabeth tries to defuse the situation by sending a private mission to Erewhon led by Captain Zilwicki, accompanied by one of her nieces. When they arrive on Erewhon, however, Manticore's envoys find themselves in a mess. Not only do they encounter one of the Republic of Haven's most capable agents--Victor Cachat, but they also discover that the Solarian League's military delegation seems up to its neck in skullduggery. And just to put icing on the cake, the radical freed slave organization, the Audubon Ballroom, is also on the scene.
The novel opens with Captain Anton Zilwicki and his adopted daughter Berry visit Queen Elizabeth Winton III. She decides to send them and her niece, Princess Ruth Winton, and the genetic slave-turned-professor W.E.B. Du Havel as her (not the High Ridge government's) official representatives to the funeral of notorious Solarian anti-slavery activist Hieronymus Stein, which will take place on the planet Erewhon, a disgruntled member of the Manticoran Alliance. Berry undergoes surgery to make herself look like Ruth and vice-versa. Upon arrival, they discover that Havenite agent Victor Cachat and his friend Virginia Usher are there, as well as a team of Solarian League marines led by Captain Luis Rozsak and his second-in-command, Lieutenant Thandi Palane; Jeremy X of the Audubon Ballroom; Masadan mercenaries; and the powerful Mesan slaving corporation Manpower Incorporated. Each faction has interests of its own, which collide with those of the others: the Manticorans want to salvage their relation with Erewhon (and upset Prime Minister High Ridge who allowed that relationship to sour); Victor intends to show support for Erewhon and lure them away from the Manticoran Alliance; the Erewhonese want someone to help them deal with Verdant Vista, a Mesan-owned planet which is a threat to their system security; a group of Solarian officers work to further the interests of Oravil Barregos who believes that the League is on the verge of collapse and wants to be prepared for what comes next. The Mesans, simply put, want to stay out of the limelight and prevent all groups from attacking their illegal slave industry--the Solarian League mostly ignores them, which has caused Mesa to grow too powerful! The Audubon Ballroom, and its leader Jeremy X, simply wants to hit Mesa anywhere they can. And the Masadan mercenaries employed by the Mesans have their own agenda: to force Manticore to free several of their imprisoned companions.
Victor accompanies Virginia under a cover story of having an illicit affair with her. Virginia, in an attempt to help Victor, gets completely drunk, nearly causing a "Major Diplomatic Incident of the Minor Variety" by vomiting on a group of Solarian League diplomats. Doing so positions Victor to chat-up the young and voluptuous Naomi Imbesi, who has a wild Erewhonese reputation--which Virginia believes will help Victor get over his fear of being with women. The latter doesn't work, much to Virginia's disappointment, but Victor does end up meeting Thandi, who is unofficially in charge of a group of Amazons--former Scrags--who call her "Great Kaja". The two of them, with support form Virginia, begin a romantic and somewhat kinky relationship. Eventually, the Masadans kidnap Berry on The Wages of Sin believing that she really is Ruth. The kidnapping is spoiled, the Masadans are dead, and Manpower's involvement is discovered. A haphazard alliance between the Manticorans, Solarians, Havenites and the Ballroom is organized to launch an attack on Verdant Vista, popularly known as "Congo". Ruth contacts Manticoran Captain Michael Oversteegen, and he arrives with his ship. They prepare to send a falsely kidnapped Berry over and then have Oversteegen attack and not only "rescue" Berry, but disrupt Manpower's hold. This works and the during the process, Berry temporarily takes charge of the slaves. The planet is renamed "Torch", and it is decided to transform it into an independent star nation for escaped slaves, so that the fight against Mesa finally has a nation sponsoring it. To cement this new authority, the ex-slaves crown their own monarch: Berry I of the House of Zilwicki, Queen of the Kingdom of Torch. Berry appoints Du Havel as the first Prime Minister, Jeremy X as Minister of War, and Thandi Palane as the Commander of Torch's Armed Forces. Keeping Thandi allows Victor to keep seeing her, as well as providing a true neutral ground for the Havenites and Manticorans to meet and discuss politics. Ruth stays on as well, to provide political advice and friendship for Berry.
All in all, a wonderfully packed novel with lots of action, great character driven scenes, and tons of underlying plots that all converge during the finale. David Weber and Eric Flint provide one hell of an entertaining book. It should be noted that this novel concurs with the events of War of Honor and The Shadow of Saganami.
