The Yrden Family traders have two mottos: "Fair Trade" and "We Pay Our Debts." "They plan to kill you, steal your cargo, and crash your shuttle to mask their deed. Forget about trade. Just get in your craft and fly away. Tonight," Colleen Newborn tells the young trader, Clay Yrden. A fair trade for his life, she figures, would be passage away from the small town of Glencayther, and the planet Erin itself. Clay, however, has heard this one before and fails to believe her, which leaves her no option but to save his life, regardless, and do anything necessary to ensure that he considers helping her escape a fair trade, a debt owed.