Araanti-a sparkling oceanic world and jewel of the Federation of Humanities. Glinting skyscrapers tower above the world's one continent and provide homes for its residents.
Well...most of the residents.
Qalupa may be Araantian. She may be from a planet of power and privilege. But she's not one of them. No, she's a barger. Those gleaming buildings on the mainland are nothing but a pretty sight to her.
Though she's an outcast to the rest of the world, to the people in her barge village, she's just Qalupa and she likes it that way. She has her family; she has her community; and she has her peace. The ocean between her and the mainland is a barrier keeping away the issues of the wider world.
Yet, with a war raging across the stars and a storm on the horizon, Qalupa will soon find that a few miles of ocean aren't enough to hold back the tides of conflict. When spaceships can jump light years, what's a few miles of water?
