Penric gets dropped into trouble almost as soon as the book opens. I enjoyed very much the clever way that he and Desdemona get out of the prison. The healing seemed a bit more of a miracle than something that could really happen, but I'll go with it. The hint of romance was nice, and you kind of know that's going to crop up again. Really, the only thing not great about this novella is the ending - Bujold gets them out of immediate danger and then it just stops. Not a cliffhanger, but it isn't exactly self-contained either.
