There was a boy and a girl and a strange new planet; the planet was alive with hideous dangers. But the boy and girl were very young and all Robin wanted to know was: "Who stole my doll?"
We've been taught from childhood that the earth is round and that Columbus discovered America. But maybe we take too much on faith. This first crossing for instance. Were you there? Did you see Columbus land? Here's the story of a man who can give us the straight facts.
Charles Chase is the Chancellor of the Alliance. He is not a king, or a ruler, or a monarch of any kind. He is a leader. A leader of many worlds, many kings, many rulers, and many monarchies. Join The Chancellor as he finds wives, concubines, allies, and foes alike, treating each with the love, consideration, respect, or vitriol, they deserve. From his childhood friend to the daughter of the leader of a most hostile civilization, he meets the best of the best and the worst of the worst.
The opening act of a true space opera. A cynical officer whose career wasn't exactly going great is given a shot at glory and accepts for the wrong reasons. A ship that should not even exist finds itself circling the changeover of eras, the good times have passed and the storms are approaching. A galactic alliance on the brink of a new age, the many parts that make its whole unaware of each other. A hastily-gathered crew learning to become a unit, not by choice, but by necessity.
Working on the theory that you can skin a sucker in space as well as on Earth, the con team of Harding and Sheckly operated furtively but profitably among natives of the outer planets. That is--until there was a question of turnabout being fair play in a world where natives took their skinning literally!