Elias Kane is a burned-out former soldier trying to disappear. Nira Kael is a sharp-tongued smuggler running from a past she refuses to explain. Neither trusts the other. Neither planned to escape together. But the shuttle they stole is damaged, overloaded, and packed with sealed cargo that may be worth more than either of them understands.

With pirates hunting them, cult shadows closing in, and the wider galaxy rotting under the weight of old wars and new machines, Elias and Nira must survive bad air, failing systems, dangerous ports, and the slow realization that the person beside them may be the only thing keeping them alive.

A broken ship. Stolen cargo. Worse secrets. Two damaged people becoming necessary to each other before either one is ready to admit it.