Stephen Silk arrives on Capella IV, known as New Texas, as the new ambassador of the Solar League. His predecessors met violent ends, including Silas Cumshaw, who was recently murdered on the steps of a local rancher's home. The planet is populated by descendants of terrestrial Texans who maintain an armed, fiercely independent feudal society where public officials are held directly accountable through legalized violence. Silk quickly discovers that the planetary government views foreign diplomats as practicing politicians, making them legitimate targets for political grievances.
As Silk investigates the murder, he uncovers evidence that the local assassins were financed by z'Srauff, an intelligent humanoid race preparing for a clandestine invasion. The local courts operate under a unique legal framework where killing a corrupt official is absolved if the act corrects political tyranny. Silk realizes that allowing the assassins to be convicted under this political court would establish a dangerous precedent, legally defining diplomats as local politicians and stripping them of extraterritorial protection.
To outmaneuver the conspiracy, Silk orchestrates a complex legal strategy during the murder trial, exposing the financial trail linking the killers to alien handlers while preventing the court from claiming jurisdiction over diplomatic immunity. When the legal proceedings conclude and the assassins are released by the unorthodox judge, Silk takes matters into his own hands in a swift shootout, eliminating the hired guns in the courtroom.
With the local populace galvanized by the revelation of foreign interference, the planet rallies behind the annexation treaty. Meanwhile, a hidden Space Navy fleet neutralizes the approaching z'Srauff invasion force in orbit. Silk successfully secures the planet for the Solar League while adopting the local customs, proving that survival among fierce individualists depends on mastering their rules rather than imposing external order.
