On Miles' first military posting, he is sent to an outpost with Arctic temperatures and a psychotic, unstable commander. When the commander orders his men to enter a facility that is leaking poisonous radiation, the men revolt, and it's up to Miles to use his wits to avoid a massacre. A story later incorporated into the Hugo Award-winning novel THE VOR GAME. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR Bujold's "work remains among the most enjoyable and rewarding in contemporary SF."

• Publishers Weekly “Bujold has a gift, nearly unique in science fiction, for the comedy of manners.”
• Chicago Sun Times “Bujold is not just a master of plot, she is a master of emotion.”
• SF Site "Bujold is one of the best writers of SF adventures to come along in years."
• Locus Lois McMaster Bujold was born in 1949, the daughter of an engineering professor at Ohio State University, from whom she picked up her early interest in science fiction. She now lives in Minneapolis, and has two grown children. She began writing with the aim of professional publication in 1982. She wrote three novels in three years; in October of 1985, all three sold to Baen Books, launching her career. Bujold went on to write many other books for Baen, mostly featuring her popular character Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, his family, friends, and enemies. Her books have been translated into over twenty languages. Her fantasy from Eos includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife series.