Something has happened which shouldn't be possible. A star was stolen. One minute it was there, the next it was gone. And Sara Hale, a mechanically augmented rocket officer, has the unenviable task of discovering how such a devastating phenomenon is possible - and who's to blame.

Entangled somewhere in this mess is Sara's young friend, David Smith, a legendary war hero with amorous ties to their quarry. David has been tramping from star system to star system since the Yavi War ended, and he's earned a reputation for being unpredictable and utterly unstoppable. But he's fiercely loyal to Sara - or at least he always has been. Neither of them want to think about what might happen on the day their goals fail to align.

Peeling back the mystery plunges Sara and her comrades down a bloody trail left by a rogue assassin, each step of which seems just a little too easy to follow. What will they find when they reach the end? What secrets lie at the Spark? And do they bode well or ill for humanity?

The future of our species, indeed of all the galaxy, may soon depend upon the crew of a Rocket to the Spark!