Trained since childhood in advanced biocyph seed technology by the all-powerful Crib empire Edie's mission is to terraform alien worlds while her masters bleed the outlawed Fringe populations dry. When renegade mercenaries kidnap Edie she's not entirely sure it's a bad thing . . . until they leash her to a bodyguard Finn—a former freedom fighter-turned-slave beaten down but never broken. If Edie strays from Finn's side he dies. If she doesn't cooperate the pirates will kill them both. But Edie's abilities far surpass anything her enemies imagine. And now with Finn as her only ally as the merciless Crib closes in she'll have to prove it or die on the site of her only failure . . . a world called Scarabaeus. Cover art by Christian McGrath.