Terran Alliance Marine pilot, Ben Magnys, spends half his days getting shot at by the Ssaanth. Occasionally those shots hit their mark. Injured in a dog fight, Ben gets patched up by Marine medic, Caden Roth. Caden's never met a Gaddite before. Gaddo IV is remote, and has such extreme environmental conditions that the colonists there were forced to alter their genome in order to survive and to ensure a healthy gene pool.
After the kind of bad day that only emergency medical people can have, Caden and Ben meet again for a drink. One thing leads to another and they end up in bed together, which eventually evolves into a fledgling relationship. However, antibiotics and altered genetics throw the new lovers a definite twist. Danger isn't done with them yet. Can they survive a Ssaanth raid on the space station too?