The Chief of State of the New Republic, Leia Solo, is kidnapped and taken to the remote, barren planet of Nam Chorios, whence the lethal Death Seed plague has been released across the sector. Luke made his own way there, seeking his lost girlfriend, Callista. Han and Chewie, Threepio and Artoo are separately trying to rescue Leia.

Your first reaction on seeing a Star Wars novel might be to sneer, as mine was. But I knew Barbara Hambly to be a competent writer of fantasies, science fiction, and mysteries, and she does good work here in the Star Wars universe. Leia and Luke have their own separate moral struggles with the Force. She fears studying to become a Jedi Knight, knowing the seductive temp­ta­tions that brought Darth Vader low. Luke is an adept, but every time he uses the Force on Nam Chorios, huge storms run amok, killing innocents.