To make a hero

The narrative presents a historian's attempt to untangle the mythic life of Leland Hale, a physically imposing, morally ambiguous adventurer who arrives in an isolated, plague‑scarred colony called Cardigan's Green after stealing an interstellar police vessel. Against a backdrop of colonial hardship and recurring disease, he engineers public deeds and manipulates local institutions until he is hailed as the community's savior, while allegations of fraud, theft, and worse shadow his reputation. The story interrogates how selective records, propaganda, and popular appetite for heroes reshape facts into legend.