After the war with the Night Chasers, the group is left fractured and betrayed. Arjen, Julie, and Captain Williams were abandoned on Wyan, spurned by their former alien allies. Teamed with Amun the Pelosian, Arjen and his team work to repair his ship, hoping to find what became of those who crash-landed on the neighboring planet, Melinger. If they can locate the lost shuttle Mack intact, the marooned team may be able to return home and stop Robin Visser's plan. Meanwhile, Lana, Marlow and Zane are in the space shuttle Knox, headed back to the Belt with Visser and Maynard Royal. While Marlow and Zane are confined in a cabin with baby Avani, Robin's scheme to make Marlow the involuntary all-mother of the Belt is already underway, with Lana as a willing participant. As Marlow and Zane ruminate about what has become of their friends after the war, they have far more to fear about what lies ahead.