After failing to pass the physicals for the Barrayaran Military Academy, the brittle-boned, dwarfish son of Cordelia and Aral Vorkosigan uses a clever touch of creativity to finance a shipment of munitions into a war zone When this simple merchant expedition draws the attention of an unexpected enemy, Miles is forced to masquerade as commander of a fictional fleet of hired guns he names after the mountains near his home—the Dendarii Mercenaries