Starfleet was everything for Cristóbal Rios-- once. Now aimless and adrift, he grasps at a chance for a future as an independent freighter captain in an area betrayed by the Federation, the border region with the former Romulan Empire. His greatest desire: to be left alone. As captain of La Sirena, Rios falls into debt to a roving gang of hoodlums from a planet whose society is based on Prohibition-era Earth. He learns the hard way that good crewmembers are hard to find, even when you can create your own. And while his meeting with Jean-Luc Picard is years away, Rios finds himself drawing on the Starfleet legend's experiences when he discovers a mystery that began on one of the galaxy's most important days.