The inhabitants of the penal planet Botany had fought a grim & dangerous war to free themselves from their Eosi overlords. Now the Eosi were gone & both Botany & Earth were free again
- free but in serious trouble as the theft of all their communications satellites by the Catteni (working for their Eosi masters) had left them isolated & in a desperate situation. Hoping that everything stolen from them would be returned they found that Catteni greed had triumphed. The merchants of Barevi refused to give up the stolen goods unless a substantial ransom was paid. Earth was in a particularly bad way: disease vandalism starvation & the breakdown of their mechanical world had left its people fighting for survival. They desperately needed the goods the Barevi were hoarding. & so Zainal Kris & a courageous team from Botany set off to try & outwit the thieving merchants. It was an expedition that led to a horrifying replay of an old nightmare for Kris
- & only Zainal could save her & the future of both Earth & Botany.