It is the story of a junior diplomat and his first posting to a planet of Texans whose dinosaur-sized cattle have to be herded with tanks. The government of story derives its character 1924 essay The Malevolent Jobholder, a system under which the killing of a practicing politician is considered justifiable homicide! Offworld powers hope the diplomat will be assassinated, thereby creating a pretext for the invasion and subjugation of the independent.