Born on a desert colony abandoned by the empire, Luke Sicinik has no love for imperial soldiers. Yet when he crawls from a destroyed spacecraft, his first instinct is compassionate: he drags Commander Villam Elding's unconscious body free of the wreckage. Stranded together on a wild planet, their truce becomes trust, and trust turns to passion, as they struggle to find a new life togetherNjust the two of them against an entire world.