For a quarter of a million years, an alien race has been hiding a vast and terrible secret In the 25th century, only the Shoal possess the secret of faster-than-light travel (FTL), giving them absolute control over all trade and exploration throughout the galaxy. Mankind has operated within their influence for two centuries, establishing a dozen human colony worlds scattered along Shoal trade routes. Dakota Merrick, while serving as a military pilot, has witnessed atrocities for which this alien race is responsible. Now piloting a civilian cargo ship, she is currently ferrying an exploration team to a star system containing a derelict starship.From its wreckage, her passengers hope to salvage a functioning FTL drive of mysteriously non-Shoal origin. But the Shoal are not yet ready to relinquish their monopoly over a technology they acquired through ancient genocide. Biographies Gary Gibson, who has worked as a graphic designer and magazine editor in his home town of Glasgow, began writing at the age of fourteen. His first published novel was "Angel Stations" (2004), followed by "Against Gravity" (2005).