Gan has never truly belonged among the elite space scavengers of Elluria. Unlike his peers, he has no family, no friends, and no crew to rely on. When graduation day arrives, his classmates are awarded state-of-the-art starships with skilled teams at their command. Gan, however, is given the Valtorian—a battered, crewless junker barely fit for space. Determined to prove he’s more than just an outcast, Gan sets off to make a name for himself. But his journey takes a devastating turn when the ruthless Marau—a hostile alien race—steal the Valtorian, forcing him to flee in an escape pod. Adrift in the vast unknown, Gan encounters something unexpected: a human astronaut stranded aboard a failing space shuttle. Their first meeting doesn’t go well (she shoots at him, after all), but with nowhere else to turn, they form an uneasy alliance to find their way home. But the Marau aren’t done with Gan yet. Their plans stretch far beyond his stolen ship, and if he and his unlikely ally are to survive, they’ll have to work together.