Brynhilde Thorensen (Sam) found herself transporting a shipment for the wrong owners. Rather than spend time in prison, she's now a conscript pilot for Solocor. When her less-than-stellar crew is replaced for no official reason, Sam goes looking for one. Curiosity, however, is not much valued at Solocor, and anyone who asks too many questions is likely to never be seen nor heard of again. When Sam discovers the true nature of the cargo she's been ferrying across the galaxy and how her employers manage the business of war, she must either find a way to break the cycle, or be content to spend the rest of her life in a semi-stupor oblivious to everything but the next space station rondevous.
Everything at Solocor is managed with clockwork precision. When a docking operation is four minutes off schedule, Brynhilde Thorensen (Sam)'s crew is immediately replaced and Sam is warned to be especially mindful of policies.
Like many inter-stellar corporations, Solocor uses prison labor for many of its operations