Remo Rydel, an Aussie spacetug captain, thought he ahd troubles enough already. His gorgeous wife, Kalpurna, was dying, sealed unconscious in a med capsule that was nearly at the end of its capacity to keep her alive. The nearest human hospital was a light year away.

He had to get her there — now!

About Hayford Peirce, Ben Bova wrote, "Of all the writers I discovered during my years as an editor, [Peirce] is the most original stylist and undoubtedly the one with the wickedest sense of humor." Jack Vance said Hayford was "among the most entertaining of all science fiction writers."