Alex Wolfe left the Academy thirty years ago for a notorious career as a Space Ranger. Now he's an exile, cashiered from the fleet by his old nemesis Grand Admiral McPeak. Alex makes his living smuggling, surveying uncharted systems and clearing out pirates--until Admiral Augesburcke tracks him down. A group of renegade cyborg rangers threatens the stability of the new Federation. Alex can clear his name; he can get his career back, but the cost may be the life of his best friend.