Lanik Mueller's birthright as heir to planet Treason's most powerful ruler ship will never be realised. He is a "rad" - a radical regenerative, a freak who can regenerate injured flesh...and trade extra body parts to the Offworld oppressors for iron. On a planet without hard metals - or the means of escape - iron is power in the race to build a spacecraft. Iron is the promise of freedom - which may never be fulfilled as Lanik uncovers a treacherous conspiracy beyond his imagination. Now charged with a mission of conquest - and exile - Lanik devises a bold and dangerous plan...a quest that may finally break the vicious chain of rivalry and bloodshed that enslaves the people of Treason as the Offworld never could.