First Officer Ghan has entered the final stages of the Taint, the deadly disease that kills most Xelixian males by the age of forty. He is determined to bring an elusive foe to justice before his body shuts down completely. When tragedy strikes a close ally, he finds his soulmate in an unexpected twist of fate. If only she had revealed herself sooner, she could have cured him. But now, will Ghan endure a life of agony to be by her side or will fate deal them a new hand?