Most of Landsdrum's people had never seen one of the feared Gorboduc Vandals until a lone Gorboduc freighter appeared in their star system and was destroyed. The captured survivors chose death before violating their strict warrior's code. All but one. Umber, a Gorboduc scientist, chose slavery instead of death, and the people attributed that to cowardice. But it soon became clear that Umber had other motives in mind--plans that could prove to be a great boon to Landsdrum and its people. Then came the terrible message from deep space: the Dark Raiders were coming, demanding enormous tribute or death. Landsdrum was faced with a perilous choice of trust--Umber was either his people's spy or the planet's one hope for survival.