"After nearly a decade away, Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with a thrilling new series featuring the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta's War sequence. Summoned to the home planet of her family's business empire, space-fleet commander Kylara Vatta is told to expect a hero's welcome. But instead, she is thrown into danger unlike any other she has faced and finds herself isolated, unable to communicate...

“Marvelously compelling . . . consummate military-adventure science fiction.”—SciFi
In the aftermath of the cold-blooded assassinations that killed her parents and shattered the Vatta interstellar shipping empire, Kylara Vatta sets out to avenge the killings and salvage the family business. Ky soon discovers a conspiracy of terrifying scope, breathtaking audacity, and utter ruthlessness. The only hope against such powerful...

"Filled with fast-paced action and well-conceived characters.”—Booklist
Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, and her father’s only child to buck tradition by choosing a military career instead of joining the family business. For Ky, it’s no contest: Even running the prestigious Vatta Transport Ltd. shipping concern can’t hold a candle to shipping out as an officer aboard an interstellar...

"As Admiral Kylara Vatta learned after she and a ship full of strangers were marooned on an inhospitable arctic island, the secrets she and her makeshift crew uncovered were ones someone was ready to kill to keep hidden. Now, the existence of the mysterious arctic base has been uncovered, but much of the organization behind it still lurks in the shadows. And it is up to the intrepid Ky to force the perpetrators into the light, and finally uncover...

"Esmay Suiza and Brun Meager should be friends -- they're both bright, brave, likable and adventurous. But true friendship doesn't run any smoother than true love. Brun thinks Esmay's a stuck-up prig, and Esmay thinks Brun's a spoiled rich brat who's making a play for Barin Serrrano, Esmay's first love. So when Brun falls into the hands of a repressive religious militia movement, Esmay finds herself in disgrace, suspected of conniving at the capture....

The imminent nuptials of Lyonyan King Kieri are overshadowed by treacherous rumors about his elf queen grandmother, while young Tsaian king Mikeli struggles with political unrest over his decision to elevate a magical woman.