In the century since the devastating War of a Thousand Suns, humanity has stagnated, staying in the cocoon of the Centrist Worlds while the rapacious pirates of Golen Space prey on ships that venture too far into the interstellar Flux. And starship Impris, lost in the war years, has become the stuff of legend--used by the pirates as bait, even as the Centrist authorities deny her existence. Renwald Legroeder, escaped prisoner and star rigger pilot, has seen what the government doesn't want anyone to see. Framed for treason, he flees--to save himself, and vows to clear his name. He returns to the realm of the pirates to find the truth behind Impris . . . to unmask the conspiracy that cost him his freedom . . . to tear off the blinders that have kept humanity from fulfilling its destiny among the stars.Between Legroeder and redemption lie the pirates' vengeance, if he is caught--and the perils of the Deep Flux, where no man has dared to fly. But with the help of a beautiful pirate renegade named Tracy-Ace/Alfa, he risks everything to uncover the secrets that can clear his name--and change the future of humanity forever.