After the events of the Serpent Fleet, Captain Stand and the crew of the Trawler have taken a nice little vacation, but it isn't long before Paul lines up another assignment. While unusual for a salvage crew, they agree to locate and rescue a lost colony ship. It isn't long before that assignment leads them into something far more dangerous. It could be the salvage find of a lifetime, or it could be an alien deathtrap ready to ensnare all of humanity. In addition to the salvage work, an investigation is underway into one of the Trawlers crewmembers in association with a war crime that nearly escaped detection.