A survivor of a rough orphanage gets herself on board one of the great trading ships using less than honest means, but it's her only way of escaping an ugly fate. Once on board she has to overcome the survival instincts learned in childhood and allow herself to trust and even like people. Her concerns seem minor, however, when it becomes clear that someone out there is targeting the great ships for reasons of their own, and that every life on board is at risk, leading to a harrowing, suspense-filled voyage to a dar-distant trading post and the enigmatic alien starfish.