Hob Ravani landed on Tanegawa's World ten years ago, a penniless orphan left behind by a rift ship. Tanegawa's World is a resource planet, wholly owned by TransRifts Inc, the company that holds the absolute monopoly on interstellar travel. Upon landing, Hob meets Nick Ravani, the head of a mercenary troop called the Ghost Wolves quickly becomes a member of his crew, the Ghost Wolves.

Ten years later and a soldier for hire in her own right, she discovers the body of Nick's brother, "Uncle" Phil, out in the dunes; he's been shot in the back. Worse, she discovers that Phil's daughter Mag, is missing, taken by shady beings called 'The Weathermen'. Hob and the Ghost Wolves must rescue her friend and destroy The Weathermen with the aid of a strange, barely human being called the Bone Collector.