When the starliner Magellan docks at his hab Omar sees a chance to escape to the stars. A few years earlier his father had been killed in a mining accident and he had been left looking after his little sister Fran. Then with creds running out things had been going from bad to worse. Against all the odds he gets taken on as a trainee, but it soon becomes clear that Magellan is a bit more than another starliner carrying passengers. Magellan is the oldest ship in the Alliance and has other roles to play. The discovery of a Hallei stronghold complete with warships by a rebel group catapults Omar and his friends into a wild series of adventures, culminating in a battle which could end the Alliance itself.
Magellan continues the story begun in the first four Arc books. The action moves from Sol system to the Alliance, mankind has moved out to the stars.