Shards Of Honor – Lois McMaster Bujold
This is one of the Miles Vorkosigan series, though it is set about a year before his birth.
There are two main characters in this novel, who start off with completing opposing idealogies, or at least it would seem.
The female character is Capt. Naismith, who is on a planet for a survey for her homeworld – The Beta Colony. She meets the other main character Capt Vorkosigan, who has already (mostly unfairly) earned the nickname the Butcher of Komarr. They come from different planets, and find themselves on this planet for very different reasons.
The story follows the two characters fight for survival on this planet, and without wanting to give the game away too much, the future Miles Vorkosigan must have a mother!
I liked this book enough to read all the others in the series.