Book One of the Gap Series.
This story starts small, with a simple case of ore piracy and focuses on three individuals: Angus Thermopyle, a pirate and murderer who will stop at nothing for personal gain; Morn Hyland, a brilliant young policewoman who has committed a horrifying act and who falls prey to Thermopyle; and Nick Succorso, a legendary star captain who may be the key to Morn's salvation . . . or her worst nightmare.
Through the lives of Angus, Morn and Nick, an increasingly complex future is revealed, where faster-than-light travel is commonplace, deception and betrayal are rife, and every action takes place in the shadow of a menacing alien presence that lies just on the other side of the Gap.
Hailed as his finest achievement to date, Stephen Donaldson's Gap series has rapidly attained classic status. Donaldson is at his best in one of the most exhilarating space epics ever told - an unmissable adventure as vast as the galaxy and as unpredictable as the human heart.