Deputy Officer Lonnie Marram's job is straightforward. Sitting on his ship at the edge of the Verdancy - the terraformed and utopian future of the Solar System - he keeps an eye out for smugglers, trying to bring their narcotic cargo in from alien worlds of Exonesia. When he spots them, he gives chase, and supporting the crack Marine-Inspectors of Solarshell as they launch the risky boarding actions.

But Lonnie's sector is quiet. Dead quiet. He's not helping anyone out here. Instead, he's worrying that he's wasting his time on the cold fringes of civilisation. He's far from his heroic Uncle Fig - and far from Ash, the woman who's stolen his heart. He pines for while she parties on the terraformed moons of Caelus. Lonnie wonders if he should give it all up to spend more time with Ash, and to pursue his dream of exploring the galaxy.

But the drugs crisis is about to get very painfully personal for Lonnie, and soon he will have to make a choice between ambition and duty...