Jim Endicott is a man with a secret -- hidden from himself. Encoded somewhere in his DNA, entwined with the mystery of his birth, is a cybernetic weapon that can alter the balance of power in the galaxy. Yet all Jim knows is that he has been turned down by the Space Academy and rejected by Cat, the woman who taught him to love. And to make things worse, he is being pursued by two alien operatives -- one sworn to destroy and the other to save him

Offered sanctuary and a position of honor on the planet Albagens by his alien ally, Korkal, Jim declines both. He knows that he must take his destiny into his own hands, no matter what the cost.

On a planet where life itself is for sale, Jim becomes a mercenary, a warrior for hire to the highest bidder. There, in an unforgiving campaign of planetary conquest, Jim assumes for the first time the imperatives of command, and learns the first an dmost difficult lesson of his career. Amidst the horrifying brutality of high-vacuum war, he discovers which side he is really on.