The marines are coming. A strange ship carries His Majesty's navy and a young girl on a rescue mission to the planet known as Dark. A young pup who calls Dark her home is growing up in war and is on a rescue mission of her own. When the two meet, who will need rescuing from whom?

A sentient ship and a child who is the only one who can talk to it. Marines who are on colonial expansion expedition unbeknownst to the ship's rookie Captain, who thinks she is leading them to rescue and explore.

Meanwhile, on the planet below, the Grey Duchy have poisoned One-Love, the organic supermind that controls the Dark's systems, in order to keep secret what only they and it know about the world that exists outside the Dark.

Our heroes Dun, Padg, Amber, and Kaj are defending the fresh alliance between the peoples of the Dark from an impending civil war.

Will Fluppit and her mentor Sari find a way to cure One-Love and save the Dark before it's too late?

Third in the hugely readable Dark series, this is an unforgettable journey into what happens when cultures collide.