About the Book
Han Solo and Leia Organa take center stage, and stunning revelations
from the past play a critical role in shaping the future, as the New
York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Star by Star now turns to a crucial chapter in the classic Star Wars saga.
The deaths of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, and victory at the Battle
of Endor by no means spelled the end of the Empire. In the aftermath,
the New Republic has faced a constant struggle to survive and grow. And
now a new threat looms: a masterpiece of Alderaanian art — lost in transit after the planet’s destruction — has resurfaced on the black market.
Offered at auction, it will command a handsome price... but its
greatest value lies in the vital secret it conceals — the key to a code
used to communicate with New Republic agents deep undercover within the
Empire. Discovery of the key by Imperial forces would spell certain
disaster. The only option is recovery — and Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and
C-3PO have been dispatched to Tatooine to infiltrate the auction.
But trouble is waiting when they arrive: an Imperial Star Destroyer is
orbiting Tatooine on the lookout for Rebels; a mysterious stranger at
the auction seems to recognize Leia; and an Imperial officer’s
aggressive bidding for the Alderaanian painting could foil the Solos’
mission. When a dispute erupts into violence, and the painting vanishes
in the chaos, Han and Leia are thrust into a desperate race to reclaim
it — before Imperial troops or a band of unsavory treasure-peddlers get
there first.
Dangerous as the chase is, for Leia it leads into
especially dark territory. Already haunted by the specter of her
infamous father, and fearful that his evil may infect future
generations, she has suffered a disturbing Force-vision of Luke turning
to the dark side. As she battles beside Han against marauding TIE
fighters, encroaching stormtroopers, and Tatooine’s savage Tusken
Raiders, Leia’s struggle with the warring emotions inside her culminates in the discovery of an extraordinary link to the past. And as
long-buried secrets and truths at last emerge, she faces a moment of
reckoning that will forever alter her destiny... and that of the New
Republic.
