In a nutshell: the Darhel, with the assistance of a human mentat, are plotting to use a mind control device to alter and override normal human aversions. Ultimately, this is, of course, intended for the betterment of the human race -- yeah, right! The device they're using was stolen from the lab of Cally's sister Michelle, who's one of a scant handful of human mentats. Political intrigue and espionage ensue.

A half dozen years have passed since Cally's War, and there've been a few changes on Earth. Cally has two children, and she's still stuck in the "Sinda" body owing to a split in the Bane Sidhe which resulted in the loss of the slab (the device used for full body changes). Her husband is presumed by all to be dead, but Cally's still faithful. The O'Neal Clan has grown to encompass the Sundays and a fair number of others, and is recognized by the Indowy as a splinter group of the Bane Sidhe.

There's a lot going on, but none of the large battle sequences Ringo excels at. (Although the Buckley vs. the Elephants bit is hysterical.) The goal of keeping Michelle alive and in control of the Tchpth device may prove useful for future installments, and the ending is left open for them, but what this installment really does is set up the economic, political and military status of post-Posleen War Earth and humanity's position in the Galactic Federation. There are a lot of lot of subtle overtones of menace building. Overall, this feels like a middle novel; the story's going somewhere, but we're not there yet. Some pet phrases get overused -- an alien mind is alien and Cally's a bombshell, but has body image issues-- yep, got it already . Hopefully more will be done with Moscovich and Mueller in the next book, as they didn't get to do much in this one.

This is definitely not the best spot to start the series. ( )

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