Cassandra has bought out her bond; she seeks her chosen family out. Six years in the mines have left their mark. Her survival isn’t secure, but the overseer puts a claim on her future.

Cassandra used her suitability for an exotic occupation to leverage a safe haven for the women she weathered the end of the world with. They were safe on a friendly world, and she was out mining a dangerous element used in all regenerative medicine.

She pays off her bond in two years and continues on for four years more before a critical buildup of the mineral gets her banished from the mining base. She arranges her transport and applies for access to the world where her friends now make their homes.

Running into the overseer of the world in question, she makes friends with the Hmrain, who actually owns the estate next to the home she purchased. Being neighbours is odd, but he helps her navigate the traditions of his world.

As a free woman, she has the right to negotiate for anything she wants, but when Yasku lets her know that he has her in mind, she has to consider her way out and if settling down as a consort might not be what destiny has in mind. She is in desperate need of a vacation.