Aliens came to Earth forty years ago. Their anatomy proved unfathomable and all attempts at communication failed. But through trade, humanity gained technology that allowed them to colonise the stars. The price: live humans for every alien faster-than-light drive. Kara's sister was one of hundreds exchanged for this technology, and Kara has little love for aliens. So when she is drafted by GalDiv - the organisation that oversees alien trades - it is under duress. A group of colonists have been kidnapped by aliens and taken to an uncharted planet, and an unusual team is to be sent to negotiate. As an ex-army sniper, Kara's role is clear. But artist Marc has no combat experience, although the team's pre-cog Tse is adamant that he has a part to play. All three know that success is unlikely. For how will they negotiate with aliens when communication between the species is impossible?

Contact with an alien race, the Gliese, has been made, but communication is impossible. There is trade, but on seemingly inexplicable terms; anti-gravity technology was traded for a bicycle tyre. As we begin to colonize the stars, we're still dependant on the mysterious aliens who we still do not understand. It falls upon the unlikely team of a conceptual artist, Marc, and assassin, Kara, to embark on a mission that will unearth the mystery of the Gliese.

It’s half-way through the twenty-first century. Contact with alien races was made forty years ago, but communication turns out to be impossible. We don’t share a way of thinking or common sensory inputs with the aliens, let alone a grammar. But there is trade, done on a basis of putting things on a table and taking them off again until agreement is reached. There is no obvious pattern to the trades. Alien anti-gravity technology was traded for a bicycle tyre. Human science has become fixated on understanding alien technology - with little success. We can learn what it does and how to operate it. We don’t know how it works - or how to fix it. The world may be a better place but it’s no longer our own. We may be colonizing the stars, but we’re dependant on inexplicable alien Faster-Than-Light technology. This is controlled by aliens we call the Gliese and is the only constant trade: FTL engines for human beings, any age or condition, as long as they’re alive. We don’t know what happens to them, but rumour says they are taken to a Nirvana where all illnesses will be healed. Their families are also very well compensated. Interstellar immigration and trade are central to the world’s economy. There is no shortage of volunteers.