A futuristic tale... As an Earth runaway, Shade had been happy to be planetside again, free of the captain of the star freighter on which she'd stowed away. But after one day on her own in Deadtown, Shade knew she'd merely traded one prison for a larger and far deadlier one. For this was a world where you were fair game for anyone's desires if you didn't have plenty of protection. Still, Shade was a quick learner, and she soon became one of the coolest of Deadtowners, a survivor at any cost. At least until she found herself played for a pawn by the three dominant alien races on the planet -- powerful and ruthless beings on the planet -- powerful and ruthless beings ready to make use of her talent for scoping into other peoples's minds...