When your courier ship gets sliced in half like a cheese wheel—and the front half vanishes—you really hope someone's listening to your distress call.

Then Marcus Golden shows up—the ambitious ex she walked out on at the academy. Of course.

In a galaxy where the Cooperative Realm has gone suspiciously quiet about certain experiments, some mysteries are better left unsolved. Unless you're Mondrian Delacroix, in which case you're going to solve them anyway—preferably while wearing fuzzy socks.

For readers who like their space opera with less pew-pew and more joy.

Perfect for fans of Becky Chambers' Wayfarers, Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries, and Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga.