A ship that cannot leave. A Mage that will not stay. A meeting of desperations. In a galaxy tied together by the magic of the elite Jump Mages, Damien Montgomery graduates into their numbers - only to discover that without connections, he can't find a ship and is stuck in the Sherwood system. Pirates attacked David White's jump freighter, leaving him with a dead Mage and a damaged ship - stuck in Sherwood, where a grieving father has blacklisted him from hiring a replacement Jump Mage. When their desperate needs meet, Damien Montgomery is drawn into a conflict with the most powerful criminal organization in the galaxy-and to the attention of the Mage-King of Mars himself!