It just wasn't fair! Captain Pausert had foiled the deadliest of space pirates and eliminated the threat of the Worm World, yet his troubles just kept piling up. The Empress Haile herself sent him on a secret mission to stop the nanite plague, a self-aware disease that could devastate whole worlds. Then someone convinced the Imperial Fleet that he was actually a wanted criminal, which led to a battle leaving his ship in urgent need of repairs. And while Goth and the Leewit, two of the notorious witches of Karres, could do amazing things, ship repair was not in their line. There was only one thing to do - join the circus! An interstellar travelling circus, that is. All the galaxy loves a clown - as long as Pausen, Goth and the Leewit keep their disguise from slipping. The show must go on - or the galaxy is doomed!