In the seven years since leaving their scavenger planet homeworld with the synchronists, Meri has made a good life for themself in the merchant corps. They like the work, they’re figuring out a situationship with way-out-of-their-league diplomat Xavia Tane, and they’ve made friends among humans and fai alike. If their next sale—a collaboration with Xavia— is successful, Meri will finally have proven to themself and everyone else that they are right where they belong. Then the boss’s shiny new flagship goes missing in a gate storm while carrying Meri’s cargo, station fai start acting strange, and a distant cousin shows up full of resentment and vague threats, throwing Meri off their game. Everything falls apart. With the help of the notoriously contrary fai known as the Curator, Meri untangles the connections. Everything leads back to their family and the planet Meri swore never to return to, but no one else–not even Xavia–seems to realize how far Meri’s family will go to get what they want…