Detective Lindscomb just wants to live a happy, productive life in good company; to enjoy the better things. This should be simple, but nothing is simple when you're trying to keep the peace on a derelict starship. Not when you are bound for a new colony that your people have no hopes of actually establishing. Nothing is simple about working with a robotic partner who was personally involved in the decision to attempt to enslave the human contingent aboard your fragile vessel. Nothing is guaranteed to work when people with pre-industrial means must maintain a life in space. And nothing is simple when you've sacrificed the love of your life for your principles. Without friends, determination and the courage to face himself a man could lose his way. But Alex Lindscomb has these things and with them he can save much more than just himself; even if it kills him.