In a sudden shift in federation policy, the protected planet of Dianis is stripped of its observers and enforcement agents. A single team circumvents the withdrawal and stays behind. Dedication, friendship, and love motivate the members of the last Interspecies Development Branch (IDB) team. 
The disappearance of the IDB team compels the matriarch, Imperator Adept of the Matrincy, to intervene. In the absence of the IDB, Nordarken Mining secretly raids the planet in its quest for a critical resource needed in the Turboii War. Before his disappearance, Chief Inspector Achelous predicted Nordarken Mining, in the guise of mercenary corsairs, would exploit the planet.
The efforts to defend Dianis from mining corsairs have attracted the attention of the powerful Paleowrights, a major religious sect on the planet. The Paleowrights covet the technologies that Achelous illegally introduced to Dianis and have begun a ruthless search for him and his artifacts. The people of Dianis are thus faced with two enemies:  Galactic conglomerates intent on ravishing the planet's resources, and the Paleowrights intent on repressing knowledge and extinguishing enlightenment.
Alerted to the cosmic turmoil that surrounds her lover, Achelous, Marisa, a merchant princess, learns more of his secrets. He is not the simple Dianis trader he pretended to be. Marisa loves Achelous, their son, and her planet, but can she unravel the mystery of his disappearance in time to save him from Paleowright retribution?
When Nordarken Mining arrives, who will stop them?​

​