Jack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn't care to talk about.
Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorp's headquarters on planet, 178 light-years
from the corporation's headquarters on Earth, Jack is content as an
independent contractor, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for
his past, that's not up for discussion.

Then, in the wake of an accidental cliff collapse, Jack discovers a seam
of unimaginably valuable jewels, to which he manages to lay legal claim
just as ZaraCorp is cancelling their contract with him for his part in
causing the collapse. Briefly in the catbird seat, legally speaking,
Jack pressures ZaraCorp into recognizing his claim, and cuts them in as
partners to help extract the wealth.

But there's another wrinkle to ZaraCorp's relationship with the planet
Zarathustra. Their entire legal right to exploit the verdant Earth-like
planet, the basis of the wealth they derive from extracting its resources,
is based on being able to certify to the authorities on Earth that
Zarathustra is home to no sentient species.

Then a small furry biped--trusting, appealing, and ridiculously cute--
shows up at Jack's outback home. Followed by its family. As it dawns on
Jack that despite their stature, these are people, he begins to suspect
that ZaraCorp's claim to a planet's worth of wealth is very flimsy indeed...
and that ZaraCorp may stop at nothing to eliminate the "fuzzys" before
their existence becomes more widely known.

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