A critical failure of the Landor's gate drive has left Ehli stranded in dimspace. Her only companion is BEETL-a drone programmed to terminate any Iscillian who endangers the ship. Ehli definitely qualifies. She caused a gate drive failure when she was driven to distraction by the personal pursuit of a tantalizing clue to her origins. Locked between the layers of reality, Ehli must find a way to repair the gate drive and rescue herself and her ship. But once she does, can she continue seeking her homeworld, or will BEETL's deadly protocols activate the moment she fails to set course for an impound outpost? And even if not, how can a lone Iscillian navigate a galaxy when the spacefaring population sees her only as an extension of a ship without a legal crew? Things are complicated further when Ehli inadvertently involves another Iscillian in her trouble. No longer playing just with her own life, Ehli must solve both the moral and technical disasters before her divergent behavior causes the death of another crew.