Back-cover plot giveaways are always to be loathed, even more than bad art for good books (Asimov books show a fascinating cycle of decent-to-apalling covers, for instance).

But spoilers for anything by Brust are simply unforgiveable. I expect the back-cover editors to be doing laps for centuries because of Freedom and Necessity*!!

* = (if you know nothing about this book's plot, good. keep it that way! know only that it is by Brust and Emma Bull, and is very mid-nineteenth-century, and good. but borrow before buying, remembering not to look at or listen to anything referencing the plot.)