Three billion miles from home, Commander Xianx Paul helms an antiquated space station orbiting Tangent, a lonely planet at the edge of the solar system. Tangent is a fabled El Dorado, its wealth taking the form of artifacts left behind by its long-lost civilization - powerful relics that have attracted some of the system's most dangerous criminals. Understaffed and underequipped, Paul's crew struggles to maintain order with nothing but the distant threat of military retaliation to back them up. But when an admiral arrives from Central Command intent on advancing her own career, she dismisses Paul's warnings, accuses him of inaction, and wages a reckless war against a savage gang of smugglers. But there are more eyes on Tangent than anyone realizes. As other forces rush in to take advantage of the turmoil, Paul and his crew are trapped in a desperate, three-way battle for their very lives.