For too long, the Puppeteers have controlled the fate of
worlds. Now Sigmund is pulling the strings...
Covert agent Sigmund Ausfaller is Earth's secret weapon,
humanity's best defense against all conspiracies, real and
potential - and imaginary - of foes both human and alien.
Who better than a brilliant paranoid to expose the devious
plots of others?
He may finally have met his match in Nessus, representative
of the secretive Puppeteers, the elder race who wield vastly
superior technologies. Nessus schemes in the shadows with
Earth's traitors and adversaries, even after the race he
represents abruptly vanishes from Known Space.
As a paranoid, Sigmund had always known things would end
horribly for him. Only the when, where, how, why, and by
whom of it all had eluded him. That fog has begun to lift...
But even Sigmund has never imagined how far his
investigations will take him - or that his destiny is
entwined with the fates of worlds.