Lieutenant Jacey Rexen gets the chance to find out when her excitement about her last-minute posting on SS Ilex turns to terror as the space station comes under attack. Hidden away, Jacey and Tate Yarker, a maintenance grunt, struggle to survive.

But Tate, who hates the military for their uncaring treatment of him after his parents were killed by pirates, doesn't trust Jacey. And his short-fused outbursts convince her that he is probably a smuggler with something to hide.

Can they overcome their mutual distrust long enough to survive these deadly creatures?