Never has there been more at stake for the people on Earth. The referendum is simple: does Earth join gamra, the organisation that governs the Exchange, the FTL space travel network? A “yes” vote would mean substantial changes to Earth’s governments, but a “no” vote would leave Earth open to those who want no rules and no laws. As diplomat living off Earth, Cory Wilson is one of the few people who understands the threat posed by the giant businesses of the Pretoria Cartel and the alien forces allied with them, but he and his team went on a holiday to New Zealand and communication has been mysteriously cut off. Someone is taking control of the world’s communication channels, bringing the campaign to its knees. By the time Cory finds out that the race is on, the only hope for the “yes” vote is a hard-hitting, negative campaign that requires him to go into the lion’s den: the homelands of the obscenely rich members of the Pretoria Cartel, where gun-crazy hunters, lions and elephants are just the start of his problems.