Ambassador Mahit Dzmare travels to the Teixcalaanli Empire`s interstellar capital, eager to take up her new post. Yet when she arrives, she discovers her predecessor was murdered. But no one will admit his death wasn`t accidental - and she might be next.Now Mahit must navigate the capital`s enticing yet deadly halls of power, to discover dangerous truths. And while she hunts for the killer, Mahit must somehow prevent the rapacious Empire from annexing her home: a small, fiercely independent mining station.As she sinks deeper into an alien culture that is all too seductive, Mahit engages in intrigues of her own. For she`s hiding an extraordinary technological secret, one which might destroy her station and its way of life. Or it might save them from annihilation.