Matty's best friend Duane is missing- trafficked by the very aliens behind Matty's own sentencing. When J'nah gets a lead on where he is, he sends J'nel. For J'nel, this is about more than duty. The smaller human male had fired up his protective instincts, Duane's emotional fragility making him vulnerable to the very sort they sought to protect the rest of humanity from.

Duane only meant to make atonement for his unwitting part in Matty's arrest and sentencing. Being sold on the black market to an alien psychopath had definitely not been any of the outcomes he'd been prepared for. Then again, he also could never have foreseen meeting an ancient, powerful alien AI whose avatar was that of a child.

Duane knows one thing for certain, though. The Talani hiding in the shadows are going down. But first, he and J'nel need to rescue Delorit from herself. That it helps Duane find himself again is a bonus as is getting one on one time to spend with J'nel. J'nel, who treats him as if he is a treasure. Now, to just get him to plunder.