"Temperance Reed, banished from the wealthy and dangerous Fifteen Families, just wants to keep her crew together after their feckless captain ran off with the intern. But she's drowning in debt and revolutionary new engine technology is about to make her beloved ship obsolete. Enter Arcadio Escajeda. Second child of the terrifying Escajeda Family, he's the thorn in Temper's side as they're sent off on a scouting mission on the backwater desert planet...

A brilliant servant under a despotic count, and a would-be assassin who has forfeited a life of comfort, join an extraordinary group of companions when a rivalry between two mercenary commanders threatens the world balance.