Returning to Bujold's Vorkosigan universe is like slipping on a favorite pair of jeans. You know all the characters, you know their back-stories, you know the settings, and you already love them all.

This novel was a pleasant variation, since it does NOT focus on Miles but his playboy cousin Ivan Vorpatril. Poor Ivan has always run dangerously close to being two-dimensional, particularly in comparison to his brilliant, driven, Lord Auditor cousin. This novel gives him both depth and history.

Not the greatest book in the series, but solid and satisfying.