Commander Vimes of the Watch must investigate a puzzling series of deaths, with help from various trolls and dwarfs.

Former naval doctor Peter Crane is urgently summoned to a remote oil platform in the North Atlantic to help diagnose a bizarre medical condition spreading through the rig. But when he arrives, Crane learns that the real trouble lies far below -- on "Deep Storm," a stunningly advanced science research facility built two miles beneath the surface on the ocean floor. The top secret structure has been designed for one purpose: to excavate a recently discovered...

When her dear old Granddad -- the Grim Reaper himself -- goes missing, Susan takes over the family business. The progeny of Death's adopted daughter and his apprentice, she shows real talent for the trade. That is until a little string in her heart goes "twang." With a head full of dreams and a pocketful of lint,Imp the Bard lands in Ankh-Morpork, yearning to become a rock star. Determined to devote his life to music, the unlucky fellow soon finds...

The Red Star, that celestial curse whose eccentric orbit was responsible for Thread, has been shifted to a harmless orbit, and the current Threadfall will be the last. Technological marvels are changing the face of life on Pern. And the dragonriders, led by F'lessan, son of F'lar and Lessa and rider of bronze Golanth, and Tia, rider of green Zaranth, must forge a new place for themselves in a world that may no longer need them.

The story alternates between two times--the immediate present, more than 500 turns since the first landing on Pern, and 400 turns earlier, when geneticist Wind Blossom, whose mother had created the dragons, was still alive. The situation in the later period is dire: thread is falling, and the dragons are sickening and dying. Only Wind Blossom can save the dragons, and that seems impossible. Time is the literal cure, however, and making the impossible...