Prudence Falling makes a living on the edges of civilized space, avoiding the prying eyes and stifling rules of imperious planetary governments, traveling the nodes between worlds searching for...something.

Lt. Kyle Dasper, his feet firmly on the ground, works to build a world worth living in.

Their paths cross at an unprecedented juncture: first contact with the first alien species humanity has ever encountered. In the wide galaxy, men and women have always been alone, despite hundreds of years of colonization and exploration.

Now it appears there is intelligent life in the Out; but it is hostile. Prudence's latest temporary home planet stands devastated by unprovoked war, while Kyle's world is riven with intrigue, fascist plots, and secret factions. Can they overcome sabotage, assassinations, and their own suspicious natures to save humanity from its worst threat since the exodus from Earth?