A cardinal murdered, the pope's life threatened...
And Earth's alien rulers need both answers and discretion now. A priest has been arrested, and many people think that should be the end of it--after all, a Catholic priest who's also a member of an alien species is a suspicious contradiction. But when Commander Al'gothin "Al" Yoshida is sent to New Rome to investigate, he quickly realizes that there's more to the story.
During the decades since the alien denari took over the planet, the Catholic Church has been instrumental in maintaining a tenuous peace between denari and humans. However, not everyone views harmonious coexistence as desirable.
Having only days to uncover the truth, Al must find out what is really going on and stop an assassination, or the fragile peace on Earth may be lost forever.