Corporations....in....space....! Susan Shwartz has built up a solid reputation with previous novels (Second Chances, The Grail of Heart's, Cross and Crescent), and is back with a novel about corporate intrigue on the high frontier. Though the UN Space treaty, still in effect in this not that distant future, forbids individuals or countries to own celestial bodies (eg asteroids), they're fine with individuals taking possession of them to mine, and legally, corporations are individuals. But someone appears to be cooking the books on Vesta, and Caroline Cassandra Williams (CC) an aspiring shoshaman (salaryman) for the high powered consultancy Alpha is on her way to straighten things out, pin the blame on the culprits, and move on up the corporate ladder. What she doesn't count on is that life doesn't work according to a business plan, and that hers is about to come unstuck from the fast track, and very, very real. That the author lives in the world of corporate finance is evident from the insight and accuracy of her portrayal of it, and its ultimate costs to the individual.

(Source: Tor Books)