When Damaus put his name in for the Traveler's Cup he wasn't expecting to be chosen. He did it as a joke--something to impress Westalyn Chi Soha with, to make sure she found him interesting. But when his highborn name is called out of forty-thousand Grey, the slaves to his people, he has no choice. It turns out even the elite Lumen aren't exempt from the law.

Now he's being boarded onto a military-grade starship about to be launched toward the far ends of the galaxy, hoping to make it there alive. No one has completed this mission. Tri-annually for centuries the Lumen have sent ships, and not once have they returned. No one knows what's out there, but they suspect their home planet still exists, and on it might be their ancestral treasure.

If Damaus tries to escape, goes off-course, or returns empty-handed, he's dead. If the crew plunges on toward the Lumen homeland, they're also dead. For Damaus and his crew full of second-class citizens, this is about deciding which option is worth dying for.