When the notorious Alphan fighter pilot, Avollo, is captured in battle, he's expecting to be transferred to a military prison, so when he arrives at a civilian Xyran prison on a remote jungle moon, he knows he's in trouble. He's surrounded by his enemies, and he knows his only chance of survival is escape—and quickly. Geth and Nix are Xyran bondmates who've been waiting years to get their revenge on the fighter pilot who cost Geth his military career. When they arrange to have Avollo transferred to their prison, they think up a fitting scheme to put their Alphan enemy to death. Without the vast reaches of space between them, the Xyrans and the Alphan come face to face for the first time—and they realize their war is just beginning. A war of lust and love. A war of denied desires.