 The recently rejuvenated and cured Lady Cecelia de Marktos has decided to channel her recently acquired youthful energy into breeding horses, using the "Sweet Delight" (legally now Heris's as a result of a bequest in Cecelia's will which was executed whilst Cecelia was incapacitated, but "de facto" Cecelia's) to visit the frontier world of Xavier (which specializes in horses), with the added complication of Brun aboard working as a low-level apprentice technician.Meanwhile, Ron and George are dispatched to the Guerini Republic.Ostensibly, they are there to get Ron away from his lover Raffaele, whose family refuses to countenance their marriage, and also to retrieve some information about Cecelia's treatment there.