Since the dreaded Xik destroyed Earth, the corps
of Beast Masters and the animal teams with which they have telepathic
rapport have served as sentinels against the Xik and other threats to
colony worlds throughout the galaxy.
Now a conspiracy with ties to the Thieves Guild is trying to kidnap
the Beast Masters' team animals. On one world after another, they are
attacking Beast Masters and targeting their animals, leaving a trail of
dead or wounded Beast Masters and their animals in their wake. They
haven't yet succeeded in capturing one alive... but they are still
trying, and they're becoming more desperate - and bolder.
Laris is a young woman who works for a spacefaring circus, a bonded
slave to its manager. An orphan with a troubled past, Laris is gifted
with animals, a valuable asset to the circus and to her boss. But she's
learned that somehow there's a connection between him and the Thieves
Guild, and also the attempted abductions of Beast Masters' animals. She
also knows that if her boss finds out what she has discovered, it would
make her a problem, and he usually disposes of problems.
When the circus lands on Arzor, home to Beast Masters Hosteen and
Tani Storm, Laris feels a kinship to them and to Hosteen's family, the
Quades. She realizes, however, that she may be endangering them by
exposing them to the dark interest of her boss and his ill-intentioned
friends. Hosteen and Tani like Laris, too, as does Logan Quade. She
would give anything to tell them her dangerous secret, but cannot.
Because she knows that her friendship with the Beast Masters could be
their downfall, as well as her own.
