In this latest volume in Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series of novels we find the hero of the series and newly appointed Barrayan Imperial Auditor sent to Graf Station in Quaddie Space in the aftermath of an "incident" that threatens to escalate into a full-scale diplomatic crisis.

Upon arrival he finds there are a number of interwoven threads he needs to unravel in order to smooth out the situation before the incident grows to something much larger. He begins to investigate the disappearance of Fleet Officer Lieutenant Solian (all that has been found is a pool of blood identified as belonging to missing man). He attempts to sort out the reasons why the Komarran Merchant fleet has been impounded. And he also becomes involved in trying to prevent a young fleet officer, Dmitri Corbeua, from irrevocably ruining his career with his desire to defect to the Quaddies because of his love for a young Quaddie woman named Garnet Five.

When not long after his arrival his party comes under fire he begins to believe his investigation may well be onto something - his only problem being he does not know with which strand the trouble might be linked.

There are a few things that I need to make clear about the universe in which this is set. This is a future where mankind has had no worries about applying genetic engineering to their own race. The Quaddies are adapted human who have a second set of arms where legs would other wise be expected. And a third strand of the race are involved in the story - the Herms, a group of hermaphroditic humans.

Between these engineered branches of humanity there are tensions, politics and at times outright prejuduces, all in a way that anyone who looks at the tensions between the ethnic groups on Earth now will find all to familiar. And it's here were you can also get a good indication of the author's own feelings as when the Barrayan group attend an zero-g dance troupe performance by some renowned Quaddie artists, the performaces manage to find a way through the initial unease of some spectators, and for a little while at least they see the performers in a different light.

The investigations' part of this book are, in some ways, secondary to allowing the author to encourage the reader to visualise the complex universe she has created.

The story though does not feel at all heavy and too rich in detail nor ponderous in its pace, exploring as it does some of the more interesting of human desires and emotions (chiefly love and hate), and adding in a mystery to the general mix to make the reader wonder what will be coming next.

There is also one other good element to this book. It is the latest title in a series that has been running for a number of years. I have not read any of these books before this, but the author included sufficient details, skillfully woven into the text, to not make this a problem. Added to that this is a self contained story in many ways, there maybe references to events in earlier books and I dare say, events/characters from this will re-occur in any future titles, but it can be read as a standalone without the reader feeling short-changed.

It's a good book - not in the league of great maybe, but it should not disappoint the reader. I can think of many less pleasurably ways of spending train journeys.