Three complete stories from the Dryden universe starring Tian, Brent – and Puss

When fate throws Brent Walker and Tian Axmar together, it's strictly a business arrangement. She's an Imperial agent with a problem to solve, he's a space jockey with an empty bank balance and a tramp freighter for hire. Somebody's murdering Yrmaks and Humans. Somebody wants interspecies war. Tian hires Brent to help her investigate. It's an increasingly dangerous game, with more than just lives at stake. Before it's over Brent and Tian will be faced with choices which will change both of them forever.

A Human settlement is destroyed and all signs point to an Yrmak raid as Tian and Brent scour the site for clues. They never expected to find a survivor, a rare alien feline with special abilities. They uncover a devious plot to incite an interspecies war designed to strike at the very heart of the Empire. With lives at risk, there's no time to waste. Racing against the clock, Brent, Tian, and Puss must stop the planned carnage, and this time for Brent and Tian... it's personal.

Tensions simmer on a world where Humans blame Yrmaks for their defeat in a recent war. For Celia Whitley, former head of Imperial Security and director of Humans First, it's a great place to incite an interspecies war. All it takes is money and weapons – and she can organize both. Revenge over the Yrmaks who murdered her husband will be hers. Tian and Brent scramble to prevent a war from spilling over to engulf the Empire. But interspecies war is not the only vengeance Whitley wants. Tian, Brent and Puss will need all of their abilities to prevent the cruelest blow of all.