Book excerpt: How are thing on Rockamorra? Bad, very. Earth Ambassador Pinchbottle has contracted to fight a dinosaur, and it's up to troubleshooter Jame Retief to keep him from being stomped, mangled, or eaten. Things are tough on other planets, too, with a civil war on Skweem, a dying race om Sulinore, and mudstorms on Schweinhund's World. These seven stories show the Galaxy's hippest diplomat at his unexpected and jaunty best.