Independent trader Trilby Elliot is making some not-quite-legal modifications to her starfreighter, when an unexpected visitor falls out of space. Literally. He's crashed onto the uninhabited planet of Avanar in a crippled 'Sko fighter-the last place you'd expect to find a Zafharin military officer because the 'Sko and the Zafharin have been at war as long as Trilby can remember.

Rhis Vanur is your typically arrogant Zafharin. But to Trilby's surprise, he doesn't look down on her or her slapdash ship. Still, Trilby's learned the hard way that even though she found Rhis, she can't keep him. She's just a low-budget jump jockey as far as men like him are concerned. She's not falling for his offer to help...until Port Rumor reports her best friend missing and Trilby learns that the 'Sko are hunting both her and Rhis. Now they're in it together for better, for worse-or till death blasts them to oblivion....