Captain Vance and his crew have been in the remote Ostrov system for years looking for the fugitive, Trin Lestor. Now they've come to Declo, a planet with frozen mountain top villages and humid jungle valleys to look for Spinnaker, Lestor's First Mate. To find him, they must charter a riverboat that's captained by a cantankerous alien named Eccers and travel downstream to the Land Of No Return. Declo is a harsh world, and it will leave a lasting toll on Vance and his crew, provided they make it out alive.