An Imperial wedding is afoot, as Gregor Vorbarra, Emperor of Barrayar, has finally found love in the form of Komarran heiress Laisa. Miles Vorkosigan is trying to woo the recently widowed Ekaterin Vorsoisson, but fearing that an open approach would drive her away, he takes an indirect approach: to get to see her frequently and knowing of her ambition to become a landscape designer, he hires her to design a garden beside Vorkosigan House. His clone brother Mark also has romance problems. He and Kareen Koudelka became lovers in Beta Colony, but the sexual mores of conservative Barrayar are much stricter, and she keeps their relationship a secret from her family. When Miles warns his handsome cousin Ivan Vorpatril that Ekaterin is off-limits to him, Ivan decides to secretly send a few rival suitors to visit her. A significant subplot involves Mark's first entrepreneurial venture: a genetically engineered insect called the "butter bug," capable of eating all kinds of waste organic material and regurgitating a nutritious, edible goo that Miles calls "bug vomit". Enrique Borgos, the scientific genius who created the species and its bacterial symbionts, is on the run from the planet Escobar after skipping bail, having sold off much more than 100% of the enterprise to investors. Another sub-plot involving biotechnology concerns Count Vormuir. Miles, as Imperial Auditor, is delegated to investigate his scheme to re-populate his shrinking District by using the galactic "uterine replicator" technology to produce baby girls by the dozen, with himself as their father. Ekaterin suggests using an old law compelling him to provide each with a large dowry. Meanwhile, two seats on the powerful Council of Counts are up for grabs, one because the current Count Vorbretten has been found to be part Cetagandan, dating back to the days of the Cetagandan occupation of Barrayar. The vacancy created by the death of Pierre Vorrutyer is contested by a distant cousin, Richars, and Pierre's sister, Donna, who undergoes gender reassignment surgery on Beta Colony, becoming a fully functional man and taking the name Dono, in order to seek the title. Lord Dono, who before transitioning had an affair with Ivan Vorpatril, and his cousin Byerly turn to Ivan for assistance and advice. As his father's proxy, Miles's vote is sought by both sides. After Richars tries to blackmail him to gain his vote, Miles throws his support behind Dono. He also suggests Dono and Count Vorbretten team up. When Miles hosts a dinner party to introduce Ekaterin to his family and friends, Simon Illyan inadvertently blurts out Miles's secret intentions. She leaves hastily after he panics and asks her to marry him. Also, Kareen's parents find about her relationship with Mark and forbid her to have any contact with him. The events at the dinner party fuel malicious rumors about Miles's part on the death of Ekaterin's husband. Due to security reasons, Miles is unable to defend himself. The head of Ekaterin's family forbids her to see or talk to Miles under the threat of taking custody of Nikki, her son. Mark turns for help to his mother Cordelia, who bullies Kareen's parents into giving their approval to his relationship with Kareen. Kareen enlists the help of Ekaterin to make the butter bugs aesthetically appealing, and the help of Miles' cook to devise recipes based on the butter to create marketable products. Dono is attacked by thugs hired by Richars to castrate him, but Ivan and Kareen's sister Olivia neutralize them. Ivan exposes Richars' plot. In a tumultuous Council session, Richars attempts to save himself by accusing Miles of killing Ekaterin's husband, but Ekaterin publicly proposes marriage to Miles. In the end, Dono gains the countship, Richars is arrested, and Count Vorbretten also retains his seat. Returning from the Council session with Ekaterin, Miles enters Vorkosigan House to find an Escobaran attempting to arrest Enrique and take him back to face justice. Miles foils him by asserting that Vorkosigan House is a sovereign territory, like an embassy, not covered by the Escobaran's many permits. A little later, the imperial wedding takes place, with Miles and Ekaterin attending as a couple, and Mark and Kareen presenting their first bug butter product to great success. Dono announces he is engaged to Olivia. Miles meets the Cetagandan delegation, headed by Ghem-General Benin. Benin reveals that Miles's double identity as Admiral Naismith is now known. Like its predecessor, this novel tells its story from the viewpoints of both Miles and Ekaterin, on occasion switching from one to the other during a given scene. There are also the viewpoints of Mark, Kareen Koudelka, and even Ivan Vorpatril, whose interior life had not been described at all before.
Award nominations
A Civil Campaign was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards in 2000.
