style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">A rich Komarran merchant
fleet has been impounded at Graf Station, in distant Quaddiespace, after a
bloody incident on the station docks involving a security officer from the
convoy's Barrayaran military escort. Lord Miles Vorkosigan of Barrayar and his
wife, Lady Ekaterin, have other things on their minds, such as getting home in
time to attend the long-awaited births of their first children. But when duty
calls in the voice of Barrayar's Emperor Gregor, Miles, Gregor's youngest
Imperial Auditor (a special high-level troubleshooter) has no choice but to
answer.
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">Waiting on Graf Station
are diplomatic snarls, tangled loyalties, old friends, new enemies, racial
tensions, lies and deceptions, mysterious disappearances, and a lethal secret
with wider consequences than even Miles anticipates: a race with time for life
against death in horrifying new forms.
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">The downside of being a
troubleshooter comes when trouble starts shooting back . .
.