The hottest card game in the galaxy puts the fates of three worlds at stake. Pirates have taken over and occupied a refugee world, and the exile government turns to the only human they can trust--Carl Ramsey. Trying to make a better man of himself, Carl agrees to help in whatever way he can. Since he's a notorious outlaw, his plan involves a little double-dealing. As Carl unravels the tale of how an entrenched pirate band got displaced from their cushy hideout and found a ripe target to bully, he stumbles across a twisted web of deception, intrigue, and political puppeteering behind the scenes. To get the squabbling factions together, Carl--known by everyone who's met him to be a compulsive gambler and loser at cards--arranges a poker game. They're all coming to the table to rob him blind. Carl's hoping that cheaters can prosper. If he can't pull this one off, millions of alien refugees will remain trapped, and if he gets caught cheating, he's a dead man.