As a database programmer from Arizona and a fan of sedate, indoor activities, Indi Smith doesn't belong in outer space. Certainly not in a star system with a broken wormhole gate and no way home. But through no fault of her own, that's where she's landed, and nobody on the ship, not even the genius chief engineer, Hierax, knows how to repair the gate. The only clue that could help is an untranslatable transmission coming from an uninhabitable planet with no atmosphere.

Though she's a fish out of water, Indi is determined to use her knack for analysis and recognizing patterns to decode the transmission and help Hierax fix the gate, whether he wants the assistance of some civilian woman or not. She refuses to die in the middle of nowhere, even if it means she has to prove her worth to an arrogant, know-it-all engineer. She's had experience dealing with geeks, albeit not ones with such big, sexy muscles, but that doesn't mean working with him will be easy.

Chief Hierax is used to being in charge of all things mechanical, and he's used to being the smartest person on the ship. Few of his burly Star Guardian colleagues were recruited for their brains. So when Indi shows up with a clever way of looking at the alien transmission, one he hadn't thought of, he's not sure what to make of it - or her.

His focus should be on fixing the gate, but he finds himself speculating about romantic endeavors. Would she be interested in seeing his hobby projects or maybe his favorite tools? It's hard to tell. He has a hard time understanding women - and people in general, for that matter - so charming her may be tougher than finding a way home.