Sometimes, it takes killing to make a living. That fiancée? She’s married—to another guy. The family business? His parents sold it. Jack Bennet returns from the war to find the life he left behind has moved on without him. The only option he has to make endsmeet lies in a military surplus junkyard starship. What’s a former Combat Search and Rescue soldier to do? Fix up the ship, hire the cheapest pilot—a notorious drunk—and take the first contract that comes up: collect a bounty on one of the most ruthless killers in the Pirate Worlds, a place crawling with thieves, cutthroats and con artists whose primary language is violence. Jack must abandon his nice guy persona, or exploit it, if he is to survive. What could possibly go wrong?

The galaxy’s most reluctant bounty hunter uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the very peace he fought a war to achieve. Jack Bennet has done the impossible: collected on a bounty in the notorious Pirate Worlds. He’s earned himself a nice boost to his reputation, a hefty payday...and a cult of enemies hellbent on revenge. Reaching out to a friend at Fleet Intelligence lands Jack an offer he can’t refuse, but to collect, he’ll have to take the plunge back into the viper’s nest. In the Pirate Worlds, the only rule of law is a brutal hierarchy written in blood by thieves, murderers, cartels, and con artists running deadly games on their way to the top. And this time, they know Jack’s name.

Personal vendetta. Raging conspiracy. Doomsday scenario. A bounty hunter’s worst nightmare has come true. As Jack’s reputation increases, so does the size of the bounty on his own head, but that’s not the worst of it: The conspiracy he’s uncovered points to a doomsday scenario, an impending act of depraved violence with steep collateral damage—and it’s set to happen right on his home planet. As his list of enemies grows longer, bolder, and more desperate, the escalation of violence threatens to drag a secret war into the public limelight. Jack begrudgingly works with Fleet Intelligence to run his discovery to ground and strike before it’s too late—or his home planet will fall, and if it does… It may not end there.

When losing the game isn’t an option, it’s time to rewrite the rules. Tired of the Fleet Intelligence game, Jack signs up for a routine bounty hunting mission. A simple bag and tag is turned on its head when he uncovers evidence that links criminal activity with a company his family is heavily invested in… a company ran by his ex-fiancée and her husband. To run this lead to ground, Jack is forced to put his scheming skills to the test, threading the needle between family, friend, and foe. The simple investigation devolves into a brutal war between the genetically-augmented Predecessor Cult and the advanced bionics of the Evolutionists—with Jack caught in the middle. Rival factions slaughter one another with impunity as the investigation turns into a race against time; a race Jack has no hope of winning… unless he is willing to do the unthinkable. One thing’s for sure; a bounty hunter that doesn’t plan for a double-cross will fail every time. Experience the fifth installment of the explosive Military Sci-Fi series from bestseller Rick Partlow, author of Drop Trooper, and debut author Pacey Holden.