The long period of civil unrest known as the Frontier Rebellion has come to an end. The Old Worlders of Earth and the colonists of the Pleiades Planets at the edge of known space have at last formed an uneasy peace. But for former Rebel highjacker Culihan O’Rourke, peace will not last long. The aliens known as the Moldaugs have returned from their long absence, and they are demanding the Old Worlders turn over the Pleiades Planets to them. If the Old Worlders fail to do so, the Moldaugs will annihilate the human race. With Old Earth aligned with the aliens against them, the colonists don’t stand a chance. But Cully O’Rourke has faced down long odds before—and he’s not one to give up his home without a fight.