Captain Vorpatril's Alliance

When handsome Ivan Vorpatril reluctantly agrees to help Barrayar's undercover security keep an eye on a young woman in danger, he is drawn into a tangled network of intrigue and unlikely romance.

The job description did not include arrest warrants from the local police or being caught in the endless schemes of warring Houses from Jackson's Whole.

Returning to Barrayar with the young lady, both are faced with choices and challenges neither had expected.

Set a few years before the most recent Miles Vorkosigan story (CRYOBURN, 2011), this may be one of the most anticipated and long-awaited entries to Bujold's acclaimed Vorkosigan saga.

For many years, Ivan has been perfectly content to live a quiet bachelor life and serve as a staff officer to a Barrayaran admiral.

With no desire for the imperial throne or the types of death-defying adventures that his cousin Miles so adores, Ivan has become a master at avoiding political intrigue and entangling alliances.

Asked to look after a young woman during a brief trip to Komarr, Ivan is happy to oblige.

But when his attempt to ask the woman out ends up with her handmaiden knocking him out and tying him to a chair, Ivan realizes that something very bad is going on.

It quickly becomes clear that the only way Ivan can save himself and his charge is to marry Tej Arqua and bring her home to Barrayar.