Book III of the Saga of the Skolian Empire.  Fleeing the heat of battle in a wounded spacecraft, Kelric -  a scion of the imperial family of Skolia - crash-lands on Coba,  a proscribed planet where a matriarchy rules through the medium of a complex game. The women in power help to heal him, but destroy his ship and determine that he can never leave - for his knowledge of their world, if revealed to the Empire, would cause the rapid fall of their civilization.  Thrust into the midst of Coba’s wargame, Kelric becomes a catalyst to the inevitable struggle between factions. At first he only wants to return home yet he finds himself changed by the game.  Can he save Coba from the destruction his presence has brought? Cover art by Ron Walotsky