It's a hard life out in the asteroids driving a space tug, moving mining rigs from one rock to another. And it's lonely work, requiring skill courage and patience, but if you want the job done Sulliman Smith could be your man. His employers, the Cygnus Corporation, are not the easiest people to work for, and his days are only made bearable by his occasional communications with Nadia Abdull, the feisty female captain of another of the company tugs. But will they ever meet, in an environment where the moral code requires that unattached men and women are monitored and segregated?
When their next rig move is delayed Sully and Nadia decide, against company regulations, to land on the location asteroid to get a few hours rest. The decision has unexpected consequences and initiates a chain of events, which results in them preparing for a life or death slingshot round Saturn in the converted ore carriers Solar Flame and Solar Flare. Then Sully hears a faint distress call...