Meet Victor Hasselborg, easily the most miserable Private Investigator in the entire galaxy. More comfortable with the dull routine of investigating insurance frauds than interstellar adventure, Hasselborg is bound by duty to chase a runaway heiress across known space to the primitive world called Krishna. Clad in kilt and sword, his hair dyed green, riding a buggy driven by a six-legged monster of a beast, Hasselborg's quest takes him through the volatile world of feudal Krishna politics and into the presence of... The Queen of Zamba.A rollicking tale of galactic adventure - space opera at its very best, by one of the writers who invented the field.

Barely had Dirk Barnevelt finishing writing a publicity campaign for his boss, then he learned that he would shortly find himself isolated in the middle of the terrible Sunqar, a floating swamp on the planet of Krishna. Without scientific equipment and surrounded by deadly dangers, he must escape from a place he knows is impossible to succeed.

Dirk Barnevelt, tame writer for Shtain Enterprises, is sent to Krishhna to find and bring home its company's explorer-founder, captive of the pirates of the Sargasso-like Sunqar. Zei, Princess of Qirib, is kidnapped from under Barnevelt's nose, and as this new book opens he is escaping across the floating weed beds on improvised skis, with the girl but without Shtain. The rest of the book is devoted to the process by which our hero finishes his original job.