In a distant future where humanity has spread across the galaxy and genetic engineering has produced many new peoples, Kurtz grows up among the Ton-Tekin, an orc warrior clan known for raiding. Though born without high status, his strength earns recognition from Queen Malya and her court. Kurtz’s greatest ambition is not wealth or fame but becoming worthy of the queen he wants to marry, sending him across a universe where conquest, clan politics, and romance all reward audacity.