A brand new adventure from the authors of the Liaden Universe® Adventures!

Meanwhile, on another side of the Universe…

Meet Gem ser'Edreth, a wizard with electronics-and a freelance thief. Deliberately solitary, unencumbered by family or friends, he immerses himself in his profession, rising to a pinnacle of skill so exalted that the planetary crime boss seeks him out with a commission to steal.

He refuses the commission, of course. That's his first mistake.

Gem's hidden past proves an unexpected liability and his plans to leave the planet go catastrophically awry. Suddenly embroiled in interplanetary politics, a potential interstellar war, and in possession of an ancient object of power and an unwanted cousin, Gem discovers that the mysterious Witness for the Telios may hold the key to his salvation-or his undoing.