The distant world of Orthe is littered with the spectacular remnants of its once-great civilisation.  Now the Ortheans have deliberately turned away from the technology that nearly destroyed them.  To Orthe comes Lynne de Lisle Christie, envoy from Earth.  Her assignment: win the confidence of the planet’s leaders.  But she quickly finds herself at the centre of a conflict which threatens to explode into war. Cover art by Chris Brown.