Hope hangs on the far edges of the galaxy...
First Officer Bran Hyssop joined the Nightingale for the adventure of a lifetime, even though it meant setting aside his free-trader beliefs to join with the Serengeti Group. He ended up with more adventure than he anticipated after a harrowing battle with the despoiler fleet. Now with the repairs completed, the Nightingale has returned to the Thirteenth System only to be hampered by suspicious malfunctions, maintenance failures, and accidents.
Research zoologist with the Matahorn Alliance, Adriana Pepys joined the crew of the Nightingale for personal reasons. She expected challenges, but nothing prepared her for the continued delays, or the system failure that marooned her on Bright Star Deuce with the Nightingale's enigmatic first officer. She would have suspected a Serengeti plot if he had not crash-landed with her.
As the Nightingale braves danger and the unknown to explore the first new system discovered in over two centuries, Bran and Adriana must form an uneasy alliance. Can a free-thinking officer and a brilliant scientist find love amidst the wreckage of a sabotaged mission, or will the person trying to kill them succeed before they can discover the truth?
