The Burning Ground

The perfect spy! For uncounted ages Shadith existed only as a spirit entrapped n the Diedem - a powerful and enigmatic alien artifact - but now she finds that she has developed the ability to infiltrate any group by transferring her consciousness into another living creature - thus becoming the perfect spy. And an ideal employee of Excavations Limited, a high-tech private detective agency known for the unique talents of its investigators. Hired to locate and return a Disrupter - a device which as the power to compromise any known security system - Shadith is sent to Ambela, a planet devastated by war. But in pursuit of the thief, a being with chameleon like powers, Shadith stumbles across a far greater crime. Will her special talents be enough to break up a syndicate which creates evil wars as a tourist attraction? (from the back cover of the DAW Books first edition)