Kitianna Tomar has lost everything-her husband, her son, and a career she once loved-but now she has come full circle, returning to her long-ago dream of a commission in the Commonwealth Space Service, flying solo for the Fleet on the fringes of the Commonwealth, charting new worlds for future exploration and research. But when her tiny ship is hit by an interstellar disturbance, she barely manages to affect a controlled crash landing on a primitive world listed as "Closed"-off-limits to anyone from the Commonwealth. Survival is the first order of business, however, and she can only hope it won't be too difficult to keep a low profile on this planet where the most advanced technologies are the telegraph and steam-powered engines. She can also be thankful the man who saved her life the night of her crash has as much reason to lie low as she does, when she realizes that teaming up with him is the best way for both of them to stay out of trouble. Who would have known she could fall in love again, first with a community then with an abused little boy and finally with the man who saved her life. Professionalism and duty vie with a personal longing to find a place in her new world, but when Fleet finally tracks her down, the stars of home beckon...