Washed out of the Barrayaran Military Academy for being overly fragile, Miles Vorkosigan's natural--if unorthodox--leadership qualities quickly allow him to acquire a fleet of ships and 3,000 troops, all unswervingly loyal to him. In short order, he foils a plot against his father, returns to and graduates from the academy, solves a murder, thwarts an interstellar invasion, and rescues the Barrayaran Emperor.