Adam Yuga, a rising young star in the imperialist Terran Protectorate, is on the verge of a massive promotion ... until a routine physical exam reveals something less than perfection. Genetic flaws are taboo, and Adam soon discovers there's a thin line between rising star and starving outcast. Stripped of wealth and position, stricken with a mysterious, worsening illness, Adam resorts to stealing credits to survive. Moments from capture by the Protectorate, help arrives in the form of Lochlan, a brash, cocksure Bideshi fighter. Now the Bideshi, a people long shunned by the Protectorate, are the only ones who will offer him shelter. As Adam learns the truth about the mysterious, nomadic people he was taught to fear, Lochlan offers him not just shelter but a temptation Adam can only resist for so long.