Masquerade is a detective novel in outer space. It is conducted on Pedanta, a planet in the Black Systems.This group of systems is closed to the galactic law enforcement group known as Guardians. The investigator, Commander Nostowe is asked to go in undercover by the Black Systems governmental leader, the Coalition Master, and work with the help of a select group of local police. He is helped by a civilian assitant from his own planet. With political tension rising and threatening to destabilise the government, he has to find an interstella serial killer now on Pedanta and leave before he is discovered by the enemies of the Coalition Master.