When the Quadrail transportation system that connects the galaxy's worlds is threatened by a dangerous military force and a race of addictive coral producers, unemployed investigator Compton is enlisted to prevent the system's takeover. It all starts when a man comes to deliver a message to Frank Compton--only to fall dead at his feet. What follows is a suspenseful thriller that only Timothy Zahn, a master of hard SF adventure, could have written....