His life has been one bad decision after the other, and now he's forced to work off his debt with a spaceship captain or risk a fate worse than death. Captain Tracht is respected and well-connected. Unfortunately, he also has some very questionable private interests, and makes no secret that he intends Alex to participate in them, whether he likes it or not. It's an experience of pain, humiliation, and tears, but somehow Alex finds himself growing less and less interested in his eventual release...

    He's suffered a head injury and can't remember his own name. What else could go wrong? Heck, maybe he could be attacked and captured by men who look a lot like cats. Or maybe he could realize that he is living in a Master/slave society and is now a servant to a planetary leader named Tryl. Depending on how he looks at it, his situation might not be so bad, even if he can't figure out who he is or what he's going to do next. Can the young man Tryl calls Yai figure out who he is and what he wants before danger catches up with both of them?