A deadly cargo is hidden on an even deadlier world.

Stellar Patrol Ranger Taigue Murchu has to track down a band of drug-runners before they unleash their toxic contraband on an unsuspecting population. The war-torn Federation has no resources to track down the pirates and even fewer to confront them if they did, so it's up to the under-funded and under-manned, not to mention the universally disliked, Stellar Patrol.

The most likely drop-point for the contraband is Ruby, a frozen planet with a devastating history. No one goes there except smugglers and scientists.

Enter Dr. Banna Lis, an archopologist with her eyes on one prize, the excavation of Ruby's long-dead civilization. When Taigue forces her to include him on her dig, working undercover as an assistant, sparks fly. But once the pair discover the pirates have already infiltrated the planet, they're going to have to work together both to protect the ruins and save millions of lives.