An unholy attack upon his brother-in-law General Arisaydia pitches sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona headlong into the snake-pit of Cedonian imperial politics. But they will not travel alone. The mission from his god brings Penric some of his strangest new allies yet, and the return of some of his most valued old ones.

This novel-length story takes place two years after the events of The Physicians of Vilnoc.

The internal chronological order of the Penric & Desdemona tales is presently:

Penrics Demon
Penric and the Shaman
Penrics Fox
Masquerade in Lodi
Penrics Mission
Miras Last Dance
The Prisoner of Limnos
The Orphans of Raspay
The Physicians of Vilnoc
The Assassins of Thasalon

Demon, Shaman, and Fox are collected in the paper volume Penrics Progress, and Mission, Mira and Limnos are collected in the paper volume Penrics Travels.

Bujold is not just a master of plot, she is a master of emotion.
- SF Site

Bujold's "work remains among the most enjoyable and rewarding in contemporary fiction.
- Publishers Weekly

Bujold couldn't characterize badly if threatened with a firing squad.
- Booklist

A superb craftsman and stylist, Ms. Bujold is well on her way to becoming one of the great voices of speculative fiction.
- Rave Reviews

"Boy, can she write!"
- Anne McCaffrey

Bujold has a gift.
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