They took to the stars to build a cleaner society. Now one man is about to get his hands dirtier than he ever imagined. Investigator John Romaine has a deal with his employers: do his job well, and they won't send him into the dirt and danger of their planetary colonies. So he's stunned when they deploy him to an unregistered world to solve the suspicious death of a Marine. And even more astounded to discover that the planet is home to aliens, the first sentient species humans have encountered. When the pressure mounts to charge the local people with murder, Romaine is forced to do two things he's never done before... Fight for his life. And choose a side that's not his own. *** "Aldin's talent for writing gripping scifi with memorable characters is among the best in the business." ~ Kevin Ikenberry, author of Sleeper Protocol