Timothy Zahn shows an unparalleled mastership of science fiction in the fifteen tales gathered here. "The Price of Survival" features an alien ship that arrives in our solar system without hostile intentions but with a desperate need whose fulfillment could destroy humanity. "The Giftie Gie Us" tells the story of two lonely survivors who find love among the ruins of a post-apocalyptic United States. And in "Pawn's Gambit," a human and his alien opponent face off over a game that will decide which one of them will return home.

A long era of peace and prosperity in the interstellar Commonwealth has suddenly come to an end. Four alien starships of unknown origin have attacked, without provocation, an eight-ship Peacemaker task force, utterly destroying it in six savage minutes. The authorities claim there were no survivors. But Lord Stewart Cavanaugh, a former member of Parliament, has learned through back channels that one man may have survived to be captured by the aliens: his son, Commander Pheylan Cavanaugh.

Decades after a successful invasion of Earth and the Terran Democratic Empire by the Ryqril—hostile, leathery-skinned aliens—resistance fighter Allen Caine is training for an undercover mission. He will assume the identity of an aide to the senate—part of the government that colludes with the invaders.

There is no job description and the job isn't advertised anywhere, not even on the Job Board at Georgetown Law. But Thaddeus Murfee just graduated from law school and has $200 left from his student loan. He is so broke he has to borrow his roommate's suit for his first job interview. While he is so desperate to earn rent and food money, he fails to nail down exactly what it is he'll be doing.

Thorn’s parents died the day he was born, run off the road by a drunk driver on their way back from the hospital. The baby lived, the offender beat the rap, and both went on with their lives—until nineteen years later, when Thorn took revenge, hunting down his parents’ killer and taking his life in a vain attempt to bring back those who had been lost. Two decades later, Thorn remains scarred by his crime. He lives in Key West, selling fishing flies and keeping an eye on Kate Truman, the woman who adopted him.