Baen 2004. Hardback with dust jacket, 755 pp.
The Star Kingdom has a new generation of officers And this elite group
hand-picked and trained by Honor Harrington herself is going to be
needed immediately, as their first assignment turns out to be more
dangerous than anyone expected. What was supposed to be a quiet outpost,
far from the blazing conflict between the Star Kingdom of Manticore and
the People's Republic of Haven has actually been targeted by an unholy
alliance between the slaveholders of Manpower, the rival star kingdoms
of Mesa and Monica, and the bureaucrats of the Solarian League. The
alliance stands to benefit if the Havenites defeat Manticore, and are
preparing for a surprise attack from the rear to divide Manticore's
forces, which are already strained nearly to their limits. With their
captain, the young Manticoran officers will risk their careers, if not
their lives, on an unauthorized mission to expose and counter the threat
to their Star Kingdom.