The Sikadian Garden on Sk'rrr is full of beautiful plants and flowers . . . and some other, not-so-pretty things. There are also shreevs, batlike creatures that swoop down and feast on beetles. Big beetles with biting mouths.
When Zak accidentally kills one of the shreevs, he doesn't think it's such a big deal. He was just defending himself, after all.
But then Zak wakes up in the middle of the night, covered in beetles. And an Imperial officer turns up dead . . . smothered by bugs.
Zak knows that this is not prime. There are beetles everywhere! Did he upset the garden's ecological balance when he killed the shreev? And is there any way to stop the swarm?
