It is the year 2816 CE - the 500th anniversary of FTL space travel. The Consortium established the first of fourteen Inhabs nearly half a millennium ago. Now Andakar has attained a unique status. Its wealth is catching up with Earth's and they want equal partnership. A growing independence movement teeters on a knife-edge and will bring terrible hardship if it's not carefully executed. Rylerra, Andakar's sister planet, is also unique. After crash landing in one of its isolated glacial valleys, Lieutenant Commander Darreth James-Po and his boyfriend Dr. Naylon Ress take refuge in a cavern. Within it is a mysterious inter-dimensional gateway. Crossing it, they find themselves in an alternate universe where the Consortium never rose to power. Without warning, they're confronted by a ruthless Terran military and are caught up in their war with an alien species. Darreth and Naylon must find a way back to our universe or they'll be lost forever. Andakar's bold gamble of independence is questionable at best. On both sides of the gateway the powers that be will make sure no one gets what they want without a fight.