It's been more than twenty years since the last Solar Queen novel was published. Memorable adventures like Sargasso of Space took the crew of the small interstellar trade ship across the rim of the galaxy in search of valuable cargo and profitable new markets. Business wasn't easy for small independents like the Solar Queen, but it kept Captain Jellico and his crew busy enough to keep the ship viable - and along the way, their adventures have entertained science fiction readers for decades.No matter how perilous their voyages are, the crew has always survived, even Dane Thorson, the Cargo apprentice who seemed to bring his own luck to the ship. And now there's another new crew Rael Cofort, half-sister of one of the Queen's chief competitors. Attractive and competent, she just wanted passage to the new port of call, Canuche, in the Halios system. But what seems a simple run becomes a doubly dangerous mission as first a plague of rats and then an explosive crisis on the planetary star docks threaten to end the days of the Solar Queen and wipe out the population of Canuche's capital as well.It's do-or-die time for the Solar Queen...and her mysterious new crew member!