Jenna Kitchener is a hardworking scientist harvesting minerals from the planet Jonquil to make batteries for human and alien alike Shes also a trans woman still dealing with the ripple effect from her familys exileWhen a member of her crew badmouths her behind her back she confronts what she always suspected in spite of her hard work and perseverance her past will always come back to haunt her She drinks her sorrows away in a bar on Asteroid 7 a rest stop nonplanet before another mission in the morning and instead of the bottom of a cocktail she meets Davis Camden a stunning man with a sharp smile quick wit and a key to the cityDavis manages to cheer Jenna up by taking her to an underground fighting ring which turns out to be the alien races equivalent to Mardi Gras Now in the middle of a party that will go on for three days Jenna embraces the change When her crew ditches her she realizes she must now make a choice fight for her right to be respected as a scientist or run away with a new man and begin her life all over again