Cordelia and Aral Vorkosigan are expecting their first child. Before crafty old Emperor Ezar Vorbarra died, he maneuvered a very reluctant Aral into agreeing to serve as regent for Ezar's young grandson Gregor. A plot to assassinate the Vorkosigans with poison gas fails, but the antidote, while effective, is also a powerful teratogen that poses a grave threat to the bone development of their unborn son. In a desperate attempt to save the fetus, Cordelia has it transferred to a uterine replicator — an artificial womb — to undergo experimental treatment that may partially combat the otherwise-fatal bone damage. Barrayar, due to its harsh environment, has fostered a deep loathing for mutations, and babies with even minor birth defects are routinely euthanized. Aral's father, Count Piotr Vorkosigan, seeks to abort the fetus rather than have the Vorkosigan name and title passed on to a "deformed mutant." A furious Cordelia keeps him at bay. When Count Vidal Vordarian attempts a coup, five-year-old Gregor is rescued by his loyal security chief, Captain Negri, and reunited with the Vorkosigans. Cordelia, Gregor and bodyguard Konstantin Bothari hide from Vordarian's men in the hills, while Aral and his father organize the resistance. After Cordelia rejoins Aral, they learn that the replicator containing their child, whom they have named Miles, has been captured. Without proper maintenance, the fetus will succumb within six days, but Aral refuses to attempt a rescue when there are far greater concerns. However, Cordelia's personal bodyguard, Ludmilla Droushnakovi, was previously stationed at the palace and knows several top-secret exit routes which can be used to slip inside undetected. Cordelia, Droushnakovi and Bothari set out to rescue Miles and hopefully Gregor's mother, Princess Kareen. When Clement Koudelka, one of Aral's officers, finds out, they kidnap him. In Vorbarr Sultana, they witness the capture of Lady Alys Vorpatril and the murder of her husband, Padma. They rescue Alys, who is pregnant with the future Ivan Vorpatril. While in hiding, she delivers her son thanks to Bothari, who learned midwifery watching his mother minister to prostitutes. Cordelia dispatches Koudelka to get her to safety and sets out with Bothari and Droushnakovi to get Miles. Once in the palace, Cordelia and her party are caught in a trap. They manage to overpower their captors, but not before Princess Kareen is killed attempting to shoot Vordarian, who had told her Gregor was dead. In the ensuing confusion, Bothari manages to set fire to a good portion of the Imperial Palace to cover their retreat as they take Vordarian himself hostage. When Vordarian defies their orders, Bothari beheads Vordarian at Cordelia's order, and they escape with the replicator - and Vordarian's head - via the secret passages. Cordelia returns to Aral's base of operations and throws down the head in front of a delegation of Vordarian's allies. Without its leader, the coup falls apart. Miles is born, fragile and deformed. Five years later, he has very brittle bones, but is very active, rambunctious and intelligent, capturing even Piotr's affection. In a side plot, Koudelka and Droushnakovi fall in love before the coup and indulge in some, to them, illicit sexual activity at Vorkosigan House. Cordelia, being a liberal-minded Betan, sees no harm in this but both are ashamed. While they are in hiding during the coup events, Cordelia acts as a traditional "go-between" to patch up their relationship, so they can consummate it without guilt. Koudelka believes he forced himself on Droushnakovi. Droushnakovi demonstrates how impossible this would have been by putting him in a choke hold. After the coup, they are married in the best Barrayaran fashion. In novels set later in the timeline, they are the parents of four outstanding young women who combine brains, beauty and, thanks to their mother, deadly unarmed combat skills.
