omewhere, from among the four human settled worlds of the Warden Diamond, hostile aliens were spying on Earth. But no agent could be sent to investigate and report back. All trips to the Warden worlds were one-way. There a microscopic symbiont called the warden bug invaded all life forms, after which life became impossible outside the Warden system. Sitting on a freighter in the "safe" zone of the solar system, the Confederacy's best agent receives reports tightbeamed from former criminals imprinted with his mind.

The Federation's put their greatest mind, who happen to be male, into the female body of operative Qwin Zhang. Objective - Find the Lord of the planet who is working with the enemy aliens and try to take control. Cereberu's symbiont threw in a little twist. It makes common the mind exchange of the person you sleep near. Lordship and immortality may make duty to the federation difficult.