As a fan of Weber's, Honor Harrington series I was dubious as to how this series would stack up and was more than pleasantly surprised to find that not only did it rate very well, it was so engrossing I was a third of the way through the book before I next looked up. Elizabeth Moon has created an engaging heroine who by following the whims of fate has found herself landed in a prewar situation and only her fast thinking and willingness to what is necessary is she able to pull herself, her crew and her ship out of immediate danger, and, indeed even show a profit.

As an honor roll cadet, Kylara Vetta, never imagined herself the Captain of an aging cargo vessel being sent out to be sold as scrap, nor did she even imagine herself in a position to have deal with mercenaries nor kill an attacker in self defense, but only a few days after being summarily booted out of cadet school for believing a fellow cadet, she is light years away, in command of a civilian vessel and unknowingly headed into the start of a situation that will echo throughout her known universe.

Forced to make life and death decisions she will prove she is more than the sum of the lessons learned from her father, a civilian trader, or that of a military officer. She'll have to combine these skills with her natural abilities in order pull herself and her crew out of the very thick of things, and prove to her parents she is not only resourceful, capable and competent, but she is not the softhearted girl the family thought her to be.

This is a fast paced, thoroughly engrossing tale that will thrill the fans of Honor Harrington with another universe to explore with another sharp, capable enthralling heroine.