An enemy on the run to neutral space An elite squadron beyond the reach of any backup A secret deal that could doom the whole sector... When United Planets Alliance Captain Henry Wong and Ambassador Sylvia Todorovich attempted to bring peace to the Ra Sector, they turned to the Drifters for neutral ground. Instead, the nomadic spacers betrayed the summit and attempted to kill everyone there. With peace forged despite the Drifters' betrayal, Henry and Sylvia take an elite squadron in pursuit of the Drifter Convoy. Their enemies have friends at every turn, neutral worlds who will give them shelter-and if the UPA breaches that neutrality, everything Henry and Sylvia have worked for could crash down in flames. If the UPA is to keep the peace in the stars of a fallen empire, their diplomats must be untouchable, their honor unblemished. But as Henry's superiors prepare for all-out war, his ships fly ever closer to a deadly trap laid by an enemy that knows them all too well...