Paul Noren hates himself for never confessing his love to Peter Nichols, a war-weary mecha pilot sent to Mars via the Phobos Initiative, the first manned mission outside the Earth-Moon system, where he is now completely out of reach.

On a return trip to Earth, Peter collapses from illness right as he touches down, the unwitting victim of the illegal actions of a scientist who was part of the Phobos Initiative. While recovering, he is approached with a chance to help capture the man who almost killed him—but there is someone else he is far more desperate to find.