Commander Scott McNabb, of the science vessel Hermes, is three years into a five-year-long survey of the asteroid belt. It's an excruciatingly dull mission, yet it keeps him far away from the agencies that are chasing him down. However, his fortunes change, along with the other four crew, when they discover a derelict spaceship in orbit around a binary asteroid. Scott's share of the salvage would be enough to clear his name and start a new life. But...