Memory recap

Miles Vorkosigan hides a seizure disorder until an episode injures Lieutenant Vorberg and his falsified report costs him his ImpSec career. While he struggles to find a life beyond Admiral Naismith, Illyan suffers a catastrophic failure of his eidetic implant. Gregor appoints Miles acting Imperial Auditor, and Miles secures Illyan's surgery before discovering that a bioengineered agent caused the damage. Evidence first points toward Miles and then Duv Galeni, but Miles exposes General Haroche as the saboteur. Haroche confesses that ambition for the ImpSec chiefship drove the attack and frame-up. Illyan retires with lasting memory problems and Alys Vorpatril's support, while General Allegre takes charge of ImpSec. Miles accepts a permanent post as Eighth Imperial Auditor and receives a working seizure-control device. Gregor and Laisa Toscane formalize their betrothal, Galeni and Delia Koudelka become engaged, and Elli Quinn accepts command of the Dendarii. Miles and Quinn part because neither can adopt the other's life, and Miles leaves Admiral Naismith behind with confidence in his new future.

Previously: Miles Vorkosigan served Barrayar through ImpSec while secretly commanding the Dendarii mercenary fleet as Admiral Naismith. The two identities gave him both an Imperial career and an off-world military role, but each depended on his continued loyalty to Barrayar. Emperor Gregor remained his sovereign and trusted ally, Ivan Vorpatril his cousin and family support, and Elli Quinn his partner within the Dendarii. Miles had survived cryo-revival. His clone brother Mark was living separately and studying on Beta Colony. The dead Komarran conspirator Ser Galen no longer acted directly, though the remnants of his old network still presented a security concern.

During a Dendarii rescue, Miles suffers a seizure inside powered combat armor. The locked weapon severs ImpSec courier Lieutenant Vorberg's legs, though surgery is expected to restore his mobility. Miles admits to Elli Quinn that earlier seizures began after his cryo-revival, but he has hidden them from both ImpSec and much of the fleet. He then alters the mission report to blame an equipment failure and destroys the complete version. Quinn challenges the concealment, even as Miles promotes her to fleet second before returning to Barrayar under Illyan's urgent recall. In the capital, Miles waits without knowing why he was summoned. He meets Duv Galeni, who is courting Komarran trade representative Laisa Toscane, and attends Gregor's state dinner. Miles repeats the false account of Vorberg's injury to Gregor. Illyan has already obtained medical evidence and the real combat record, however. He confronts Miles with the seizures, injury, and falsification, then offers resignation as the alternative to court-martial. Miles suffers another seizure in Illyan's office and accepts a quiet medical discharge. His ImpSec career and his authority to command the Dendarii as Admiral Naismith are both effectively over.

Miles collapses into a dangerous depression after his discharge. Ivan Vorpatril and Duv Galeni intervene, and Ivan moves into Vorkosigan House to keep him supervised. Miles establishes an independent account, hires Ma Kosti as cook, and brings her younger son into the household as driver and seizure watch. Gregor warns Miles not to contact or seize control of the Dendarii, which would now amount to treason, and leaves the fleet's command future to Elli Quinn. Gregor and Laisa Toscane are strongly drawn to each other, despite the political sensitivities of a Barrayaran emperor choosing a Komarran bride and the personal cost to Galeni. Miles encourages Gregor to pursue the relationship. Seeking distance from the capital, Miles travels through the neglected Vorkosigan district and returns to Sylvie Vale, where an old case once shaped his sense of duty. He discovers that the community has built a dam, is constructing a clinic, and honors a murdered child through a school rather than only a grave. After Miles confesses his disgrace to the child's mother, she directs him toward continued life and useful action. He leaves without a settled career, but no longer treats his failure as the end of all purpose.

Miles finally tells his parents about the discharge and remains hesitant to pursue treatment, uncertain what a cure would mean without lawful Dendarii command. Gregor and Laisa announce their engagement. Duv Galeni reacts with personal anger but chooses loyalty to Gregor and recognizes the political importance of the match. A new crisis begins when Galeni reports repeated errors and temporal confusion from Simon Illyan. Illyan then orders Miles to repeat a mission completed years before, confirming that the problem is severe. General Haroche reviews the evidence, and Illyan soon becomes incoherent during a briefing and is confined to the ImpSec clinic. Haroche takes control as acting chief, excludes Miles, and blocks ordinary access. Lieutenant Vorberg later reports that Illyan has repeatedly asked for Miles, but those requests have not reached him or Gregor. Miles appeals directly to Gregor through his standing as Lord Vorkosigan. Gregor appoints him acting Imperial Auditor for the case, giving him independent authority over ImpSec. With Ivan as assistant and witness, Miles forces access to Illyan and finds him cycling rapidly among memories from different periods of his life. Miles orders humane care and familiar attendants while beginning an inquiry that must distinguish natural deterioration from possible sabotage.

Admiral Avakli determines that Illyan's eidetic implant is failing and cannot be repaired in place. Removal will destroy the chip and carries uncertain effects, but Miles obtains Gregor's approval and chooses Illyan's survival over preservation of its stored data. The surgery succeeds. Illyan remains physically stable and retains much of his identity and judgment, yet his short-term memory is seriously impaired. Alys Vorpatril becomes a steady and calming companion during his recovery. Miles brings molecular biologist Vaughn Weddell, formerly known as Dr. Hugh Canaba, into the chip analysis. He also undergoes evaluation for his own seizures. Doctors identify an unusual epilepsy connected to cryo-revival and propose an implant that could allow controlled episodes, though it would manage rather than cure the condition. Avakli and Weddell eventually establish that Illyan's chip did not simply decay. A specially engineered prokaryote consumed its organic matrix and then largely destroyed itself. The agent appears to be illicit custom work derived from medical technology, and exposure could have occurred by several routes within a broad recent window. Miles and Haroche open a sabotage investigation, but Illyan's memory gaps prevent him from identifying the attack. The perpetrator, motive, and exact means of delivery remain unknown.

Miles concludes that Illyan's attacker is probably inside ImpSec. Altered records falsely place Miles in an evidence room before his discharge, so he seals the area and sends Ivan to conduct a complete inventory. Ivan finds a stored sample matching the agent used against Illyan, with two delivery capsules missing. The material came from Ser Galen's former network, and the forged visit appears designed to implicate Miles. The internal trail then points toward Duv Galeni's office. General Haroche arrests Galeni for treason during Gregor and Laisa's reception, though Miles distrusts a case built on access records and inferred motive. Vaughn Weddell establishes that the capsules disperse airborne spores. Haroche presses Miles to accept Galeni's prosecution and offers him reinstatement, promotion, and renewed Dendarii command if he will end the audit. Miles recognizes the offer as a bribe and turns his suspicion toward Haroche. Knowing that spores should remain in ventilation filters, Miles secures Galeni and arranges a concealed test. Galeni's office is clean. A feigned building-wide search prompts Haroche to remove an incriminating filter from his former office, where Miles catches him and confirms the residue. Miles arrests Haroche for treason, clears Galeni, and appoints General Allegre acting chief. The physical case is established, but Haroche's motive and complete account await interrogation.

Haroche confesses that ambition for the ImpSec chiefship led him to steal two biological capsules and expose Illyan twice. He expected to disable rather than kill Illyan, resented Miles as a likely future superior, and redirected the frame-up toward Galeni when the investigation advanced too quickly. He also admits that his offer of restored Dendarii command was meant to secure Miles's cooperation. Haroche plans to plead guilty, while Miles completes an audit accepted by Gregor and the other Imperial Auditors. Illyan retires after forty-five years with lasting memory limitations. Alys Vorpatril helps him establish an independent home and practical memory aids, and the two begin a relationship. General Allegre takes over ImpSec, while the cleared Galeni remains in service, may lead Komarran Affairs, and becomes engaged to Delia Koudelka. Gregor and Laisa publicly formalize their betrothal. Miles declines the ImpSec chiefship. He receives a working seizure-control implant, retires from Imperial Service at captain's rank, and accepts appointment as the permanent Eighth Imperial Auditor. Elli Quinn accepts Barrayar's offer to command the Dendarii as Admiral Quinn. Miles asks her to remain on Barrayar, while she asks him to return as Admiral Naismith. Neither can accept the other's life, so they end their relationship with affection. Miles asks to be warned when the Dendarii sergeant's terminal decline begins, then returns home certain that leaving Naismith behind has made him more fully himself and ready for his new work.

General Haroche admits that he used stolen Komarran biological agents to damage Illyan's eidetic implant, hoping to clear his own path to the ImpSec chiefship. He also confesses to redirecting the frame-up toward Duv Galeni and trying to buy Miles's silence with restored rank and Dendarii command. Haroche plans to plead guilty, but his sentence is still pending. Galeni is cleared, remains in ImpSec, and becomes engaged to Delia Koudelka. General Allegre serves as acting chief and is Miles's preferred permanent successor. Illyan survives the implant removal but retains serious short-term-memory limitations. He retires after forty-five years, establishes a home outside ImpSec, and begins a relationship with Alys Vorpatril. Gregor and Laisa Toscane publicly formalize their engagement, with their wedding still ahead. Miles receives a functioning device to manage his seizures, retires from Imperial Service at captain's rank, and accepts appointment as the permanent Eighth Imperial Auditor. Elli Quinn accepts the Dendarii admiralcy under Barrayaran sponsorship. She and Miles end their partnership because neither will abandon the life each has chosen. Miles asks her to alert him when the Dendarii sergeant's terminal decline begins, leaving that personal obligation unresolved. He closes the book committed to life as Miles Vorkosigan rather than Admiral Naismith.