Synopsis: Fugitive from the stars! Skeen, space pilot, trader, collector, and thief, had come to the world of Mistommerk through a bizarre Gateway in time and space - a Gateway which only one of its creators, the mysterious Ykx, could reopen from the Mistommerk side. And so, Skeen began her search for one of the elusive Ykx, a search that would take her into the domains of the eight different races which dwelt together in uneasy peace. But Skeen's quest soon disturbed the delicate balance of power on Mistommerk, and she and her newfound comrades - from the shapeshifter Timka to the Gate Opener, Lipitero - found themselves pursued by bloodthirsty assassins determine to claim their lives before they could unlock the Gate between worlds and escape to the greater galaxy with Mistommerk's most precious treasure. (from the back cover of the DAW Books first edition)