First in the series following the exploits of the most dangerous man in the galaxy--and his clone--from the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author. On Deluros VIII, the capital of mankind's sprawling Oligarchy, the most famous killer in the galaxy has rested in DeepSleep for over one hundred years, hoping for a cure for the disease that plagues him. But now it's time to wake him up. The governor of Solio II has been assassinated--and the hunt for his murderer is on. Who better for the job than bounty hunter Jefferson Nighthawk, a.k.a. the Widowmaker? No cure has yet been discovered, but Nighthawk can still be of use to the government--as a clone. After being force-fed the equivalent of decades of living in little more than a month, this version of Nighthawk is set loose on the galaxy,aimed straight at his target. His handlers are counting on Nighthawk's bloodthirsty nature to guide him--and his inexperience to keep him from seeing the trap he faces. But unlike the original Nighthawk, who chose to kill, this one has a conscience. One that will cause the government's brilliant plan to backfire when his deadly instincts are unleashed on those who truly deserve his rage . . . Praise for Mike Resnick "Resnick is thought-provoking, imaginative . . . and above all galactically grand." --Los Angeles Times "Nobody spins a yarn better than Mike Resnick." --Orson Scott Card, New York Times-bestselling author of Ender's Game