From the publisher's product description. Black as Pitch is the third adventure in the Grendelssaga (after Rescue Run and Salvage Rights), a series of three adventures set on the rogue world of Grendel, in the Queen Alice’s Star system. Grendel is largely unexplored, an uninhabitable world in the next orbit out from the human colony world of Beowulf. The British colonial government of Alicia is eager to engage with the Pentapods, having seen the benefits accrued to the French colony on Beta Canum. They are acting as quickly as possible, to forestall a French intervention, and present to the Home Office a fait accompli by having a treaty in place by the time the courier ship returns with instructions. The Alician Colonial Government, in conjunction with the University of Alicia, has put together a project to rapidly expand the base on Grendel, increasing its scientific capabilities, as well as outfitting it as a human embassy to the Pentapods. This final episode, set on the hostile world of Grendel, sees the characters forced into further co-operation with the alien Pentapods, as they delve into the secret kept by this planet for the past 100,000 years. Meanwhile, another threat awaits them on the surface, biding its time... This final episode set on the hostile world of Grendel sees the characters forced into further cooperation with the alien Pentapods, as they delve into the secret kept by this planet for the past 100,000 years. Meanwhile, another threat awaits them on the surface, biding its time...