The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues

The eighth Rat book, and the third in the "prequel" sequence, following A Stainless Steel Rat is Born and The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted.

Slippery Jim is caught red-handed when he tries to rob the mint in Paskönjak. He is presented with a simple choice: a horrible death, or a job for the Galactic League. The League want Jim to go to the planet Liokukae and bring back a missing artefact – the only known evidence of an alien life-form ever found.

To ensure that Jim doesn't try to escape, he is given a slow-acting poison – he's got 30 days to return with the artefact, and receive the antidote, or he'll die. Liokuke is a colony where misfits and maniacs are sent, so to ensure a warm welcome and safe passage around the planet, Jim arrives with three League agents, disguised as a rock band sent to entertain the inhabitants. But as time passes – and Jim's life expectancy is reduced – the mission becomes less about recovering the artefact, and more about liberating the planet.