When the crew of the Medical Explorer Juniper arrive at the space city of Caelestia, they are horrified to find it floating airless in space with thousands of its people dead. The only survivor is a cyborg gardener, Vairya, who has been left amnesiac and terrified, barely able to choke out a few words: "It could happen again."As ex-military doctor Reuben Cooper explores the illusory rose garden of Vairya's memory, where Vairya himself flirts and hides among the flowers, he discovers a terrible threat, not just to the crew of the Juniper but to all humanity.Can four doctors and a cyborg fight a merciless enemy that can kill with a touch?