The author introduces readers to some of the interesting characters found in the region of Provence--a disgraced gendarme, a gourmet in a track suit, and a man whose ambition is to make toads sing.

A century from now, thanks to a technology allowing instantaneous travel across light-years, humanity has solved its energy shortages, cleaned up the environment, and created far-flung colony worlds. The keys to this empire belong to the powerful North family - composed of successive generations of clones. Yet these clones are not identical. For one thing, genetic errors have crept in with each generation. For another, the original three clone "brothers"...