The third book in Alastair’s Merlin Series, and should be read immediately after Minla’s Flowers.
More shenanigans as Merlin finds another system to play fixer in, this time it’s because he needs a new syrinx and this system happens to have one the cohort sold them. Merlin knows this because he picks up a hitch-hiker along the way, who is the only surviving member of the Cohort ship who sold the syrinx.
So it’s all big war things and all that sort of stuff.
Next book — and final book — in this enjoyable little tetralogy will be Merlin’s Gun. I wonder if the title gives away the fact that he finally found it? We shall soon find out: at least, i shall.