Newly-graduated Probationary Ensign Jenna is assigned to the Dragonstar Charys. She's got a standard year to prove her worthiness to be a Cavalier, and her assigned wingmate and Mentor seems to have a thing against women fighter pilots.

When her Wyvern fighter starts malfunctioning and no one can prove there's anything mechanically wrong, everyone with power over her future seems to blame her, calling her a liar and a coward. After her wingmate is gravely wounded in battle – partially because of the ongoing problems with her wyvern, he brings charges of cowardice against her. If convicted, she'll never become a full Cavalier.

Can she prove that the real problem is a mechanical malfunction before her court-martial?