Thracius "Tracy" Belmanor and the Infanta Mercedes de Arango have graduated from The High Ground and have become officers in the Orden de la Estrella. Tracy's posting aboard a battleship leads him to further doubt the intentions of the Solar League, as he and his comrades are required to "assimilate" the settlers of a Hidden World. Meanwhile, Mercedes' own posting - and her difficult marriage to Beauregard "Boho" Cullen, made to assure her succession of the throne - divides her loyalties. In a society where most humans and all aliens are second-class citizens, the two young officers will have difficult choices to make...