The Earth below is a house in disorder. The spacers increasingly just want to be left alone. They need less from Earth all the time so many don't really care what they do down there on the Slum Ball, but what if improving technology made it easier for them to bring all their old factions and sects and rivalries among the stars? The three partners April, Jeff and Heather hope to beat them at that game and find a firm foothold out there before the Earthies arrive. (As this is the 9th book in a series you will not understand a lot of story elements if you don't start at the beginning. To explain everything in depth the entire book would have to be backstory at this point and it would turn into one huge info-dump.)