Tassin has disappeared into the infinite reaches of space, and Sabre must deal with his despair. In her desperation to find him, Tassin boards a smuggler ship that answers Tarl's call, and she and Tarl are abducted. Her royal status means nothing to their kidnappers, but her airs and graces pay off, and a self-styled emperor purchases them. Tarl's cyber tech skills prove valuable to Emperor Endrovar, but he sells Tassin to a high king, ruler of fifteen solar systems, whose family has strange ties to Myon Two. She discovers an astounding revelation regarding Sabre's origins, but is unable to persuade Tarvin to let her go. When Sabre learns of Tassin's abduction, despair overwhelms him, for she has vanished into the endless reaches of space, untraceable... lost. He is certain he will never find her, and, although Fairen helps him to set out in search of her, he knows it is hopeless. His machine-trained mind has calculated the odds and returned a decimal so small he does not want to count the zeroes in front of it. Without hope, Sabre cannot cope with the host of emotions her disappearance dumps into his mind - useless, illogical feelings that only bring him pain. Fate has dealt him a final, crushing blow, and he has lost the girl he loves just when he is becoming almost human.