After a terrifying encounter with the Amnion Niick Succorso and the crew of Captain's Fancy had sought the haven of Thanatos Minor. The lonely planetoid in forbidden space was the home of an infamous bootleg shipyard where illegals from all over the galaxy came to repair their ships, trade in illicit commodities and indulge their exotic tastes in entertainment.

But the Amnion aliens were waiting for them, and Nick was forced to hand over Davies Hyland, the son of Morn Hyland and Angus Thermopyle. Born and brought to manhood in only an hour by Amnion force-growing techniques, Davies was the image of his father, imprinted with the mind of his mother. Now it seemed that his short, bewildering life was about to reach a premature end at the hands of the Amnion.

Meanwhile, his father Angus has been through his own transformation. The former pirate had been turned into a cyborg - fitted with the lates technology to become a deadly, if unwilling, tool of the UMC Police, programmed to carry out a secret mission that could have nightmarish consequences.

Before long, while the godlike controllers of the UMC looked on from the sidelines, Morn, Nick, Angus and Davies - unwitting pieces in a power game of mind-shattering proportions - would meet again in an explosive confrontation on Thanatos Minor . . .