SURVIVAL IS SANITY. Forcibly conscripted into an alien training program as a child, nineteen-year-old Sam Locklear grew up on an alien planet. Smart and charismatic, he has become one of the aliens' favorite cadets, but though Sam's come to be friends with his mentors, he isn't blind to their faults or their harsh treatment of Earth. Now he's on his way back to Earth to work in their Los Angeles headquarters, and to find the line between being used... and using them. When Sam's homecoming speech sets off a string of violence, he realizes he choices carry more weight than he realized. First there's a hate message scrawled in blood, then a drive-by attack, and a riot that ends in fire. When Sam's girlfriend, Nat, disappears, he'll dare anything to get to the bottom of the craziness. From the streets of Los Angeles to a treacherous space station, Sam must uncover the real reason for the cadet program and the true meaning of loyalty to his friends, and his species...