The Interstellar Mining Vehicle Caliban cruises through warp space, her crew enduring grim and sterile life in the artificial environment within her hull. Countless billions of miles from home, they search for mineral resources that will feed the industries of an exhausted Earth. They know the rules: if anything goes wrong, no one is coming to help them. They are on their own. A catastrophic collision with a mystery vessel leaves the Caliban crippled and drifting, systems failing, crew desperate. Their one chance lies aboard the other ship--an alien hulk apparently long-abandoned, with a cargo in her holds beyond all human comprehension. But deep in those endless hallways something else is stirring. And soon the few survivors are dying, seemingly at the hands of one of their own comrades.