Vienna-a new class of ship with an innovative drive that can take her through voidspace, faster and further than any other vessel the Terran Space Corps has.Quinn Gresham-a controversial choice for the Captain's chair. He didn't expect to get the job and a lot of people wish he hadn't.Rachel Murray-his second-in-command, another surprise. The military wing of the Corps objects to having a woman in the post they'd earmarked for one of their favoured candidates.Warbird-the AI that controls the Vienna, an exasperating lump of circuitry that is the eyes, ears and heart of the ship. It swears it doesn't have a sense of humour-it lies.All goes well for the first few weeks of their maiden voyage, then they rescue three members of an unknown alien race from a wrecked spacecraft. First contact is initially successful, then they receive an urgent order to return to known space.A human colony has been attacked, leaving thousands dead, and the Vienna's crew find themselves on the wrong side of an interstellar war. Both races have weapons that can devastate planets, so Quinn, Rachel and their three inhuman allies must try to stop the conflict before their homeworlds are destroyed, not an easy task when they're declared traitors, the aliens are outlaws, and everyone wants to kill them.