Sam Slate has finished his training to become a Marine—one of the elite guardians of humanity that guard the borders of human space. He is no longer Sam: now he is call sign Eight.

Yet none of the training he went through has prepared him for what life on the outer reaches of space would really be like. He is supposed to be cold and without attachment, but the rest of the section isn't acting like he was led to believe they would.

His combat scores are poor and despite his best efforts, the section is not accepting him.

Will he be able to fit in here? Or is there some other reason that these Marines are so on edge?

When they find one outpost wiped out and another one under attack, will the section be able to deploy and stop the attackers? Or will they end up dead on a lonely moon far from home?