An alternate cover edition can be found here. The Salukan homeworld is a forbidding planet of harsh heat and merciless desert. Sophisticated security measures guard the capital city of Byiul—both within and without. Kelly and his special ops team must infiltrate the city to extract a Salukan double-agent—known to them as "Sparrow"—who now wants to defect to the Alliance. Yet Kelly's team isn't prepared for how dangerous this mission will become. Sparrow's daughter is planning her own special brand of treason. Sparrow's son—horrified by his father's intentions to defect—is out for blood. Trapped on all sides, Kelly's Spacehawks may not make it out alive.