The Private Starship Arianrhod is a merchant vessel crewed by a talented bunch of seasoned spacers that plies her trade across the sectors and zones of the mapped galaxy. Flying under the flag of the Trades Alliance, she calls the mighty docking and repair facility of the Web at Merkat Three her usual harbourage.

But as attacks on merchant and other shipping begin to increase in both frequency and severity, it soon becomes apparent that there are new bullies on the block that give no quarter and take or destroy everything in their way. Pulled into the conflict, Arianrhod and her sister ships soon find themselves in a firing line that spans the entire charted galaxy where even Arianrhod's legendary firepower and her rather maverick crew are liable to find they have met their match... or have they?