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The year is 2135, and the international program to seed the galaxy with human colonies has stalled as greedy, immoral powerbrokers park their starships in Earth’s orbit and begin to convert them into space condos.
Ellen Starke’s head, recovered from the crash that killed her mother, Eleanor, has a lot to deal with. She has a clone, but its body is a baby’s; she’s responsible for the teetering empire her mother created; she’s surrounded by people plotting against her; and she believes Eleanor can’t be dead.
Applied People’s corporate fortunes are about to take a tumble, partly because Fred Londenstane’s on trial for his part in Ellen’s rescue. Andrea Tiekel, head of E-Pluribus, is maneuvering to take over the clone market and, in fact, angling for control of even more, including Heliostream and the entire extrasolar colonization plan.
Heliostream CEO Merrill Meewee, one of Eleanor’s loyal agents, discovers some very interesting fish while skipping rocks in a pond on the Starke Enterprises campus. Intrigue, plotting, adventure, and bizarre conspiracies abound in this eminently satisfying follow-up to "Counting Heads".
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