Captain Arlon Stoddard and his tireless crew patrol the spaceways. Arriving on Melle, a planet covered in vast oceans, hundreds of archipelagoes and entirely lacking continents, the crew know they have their work cut out for them. With conflicting jurisdictions, megalomaniac leaders and a mysterious ruin, the planet presents exactly the kinds of problems the crew specializes in. Impossible ones. But betrayal from an unexpected quarter throws them into a desperate battle for their lives. A battle that might just have Melle reveal its secrets.