Independent galactic trader Ven Zaran steps in to help a fellow trader, taking over his contract in a region rife with pirate activity. His certainty that he can avoid the pirates evaporates when he finds out the fine print in the contract. He begins to lose cargo after cargo and each attempt to avoid the pirates and follow the contract only draws more attention from the pirates. Trying to keep his income up, he takes some side jobs, but when the pirates capture one of those, Ven puts all his efforts into recovering it and ends up breaking his contract. Now free, Ven lays his own trap for the pirates, but it is a dangerous game with deadly consequences.