Asteroid miner Mary Rodrigo and freighter owner Mattim Abeeb are green draftees of the Society of Humanity, forced to fight for Earth?a planet they?ve never even seen. Major Ray Longknife and his lover, Senior Pilot Rita Nuu, are career soldiers, invested with the cause of the Unity Party?and its ambitious new president. These four soldiers on opposing sides of the battle are about to discover the true nature of this terrible war: a quest for profit?from the high command of both sides. What they will risk is nothing less than their lives. For although truth may be the first casualty of war, it?s not going to be the last?

Frederick, the poet mouse, stores up something special for the long cold winter.