The people of Arkhide don't fear their planet's mighty volcanoes, but they have long lived in fear of being 'discovered' by the mammoth Cooperative Realm of Planets. Now the Co-op has found them. To save her people, Katla Sofiasdotter is charged with changing the terms on the unfair treaty the Cooperatives have offered. A treaty that sentences thousands on her planet, "illegals," to immediate death. Problem is, Katla's no diplomat.