A century earlier, the Markovians were the meanest, nastiest, orneriest specimens in the entire Council of Galactic Associates. The worlds in their corner of their galaxy controlled a military force that outweighed anything the Council could possibly bring to bear against them.

With complete disregard interplanetary order they harassed and attacked peaceful shipping and inoffensive cultures throughout a wide territory. For years the Council debated and threatened -- but nothing was ever done. Then, so gradually it was hardly noticed, the harassments began to die down. The warlike posturing was abandoned by the Markovians. Within a period of about seventy or eighty years there was a complete about-face.

What had happened? Cameron and his new wife Joyce are going into unfriendly regions to find out, in this classic adventure from one of the early novelists of science fiction, Raymond F. Jones.