Only as interstellar mercenaries can humans go to the stars; the aliens who already dominate the galaxy allow no other recourse. But when Swordsman Third Class Kana Karr and his comrades-in-arms are betrayed and abandoned on a hostile world by their alien master, s the warriors from Earth begin a desperate but glorious march across a planet whose every sword is against them. Their actions may doom humanity's future — or lead the way to an empire of their own!