First volume in the Nrààk Confederation Series: Captain Mark Sterling and his team had been sent to investigate the ruins of a city on Dlàsú IV, a desert world circling a sickly K type star, a hundred plus light-years from Earth. They found a humanoid alien race called the Tïsè working in the mines of Dlàsú, but ignored their warning that they should leave the planet before they were discovered by their masters. The Nrààk ruled not only the Tïsè and Dlàsú, but dozens of alien races across a thousand worlds in the Galaxy. Mark and his team survived their capture by the Nrààk, but were dragged into the ongoing conflict between the Nrààk and their overlords, the Nàsúwårna. They might survive to return to Earth but only if they could help the Nrààk defeat the unseen Nàsúwårna. (Volume 2: Blood Red Petals Ankle Deep ----- Volume 3: Antique Ladies and Gray Malevolence)