Markus Crowe-Valdez arrives as a prisoner in a commercially owned gulag on a far away world, where he witnessed firsthand the harsh conditions of exoplanet colonization . After discovering a dark secret about the colony, he is caught in the middle of a brutal rivalry between terraforming moguls. To save himself and his fellow prisoners, he must lead them in a rebellion against overwhelming odds and gain favor of a sophisticated alien race who eyes humankind with caution and suspicion.