Steward is a Beta— a clone. In his memories, he's an elite commando for an orbital policorp— but because his Alpha never did a brain-scan update, Steward's memories are fifteen years out of date . . . and in those fifteen years, everything has changed.

An interstellar war destroyed the company that held his allegiance. His wife has divorced him, along with the second wife that he can't even remember. Most of his comrades died in a useless battle on a world called Sheol, and those who survived are irrevocably scarred. An alien race has arrived and become the center of a complex and deadly intrigue.

And someone has murdered him.

"Fast-moving, hard-driving, with a robust well-handled plot . . . a stirring and heartening performance." – Kirkus Reviews

"Walter Jon Williams proves that he is a master of action, character and galaxy-spanning plots." — Fantasy Review

"A combination of fast action, gritty realism, and high-tech polytechnics that is certain to be popular with Williams' growing audience." –Booklist.

"(Williams) is a master of the intricate yet fast-paced plot— the essence of thrillers and novels of political intrigue." –Locus