Priscilla Mendoza has been betrayed by her shipmates and abandoned on a backwater world. Friendless, jobless and broke, she seeks work on incoming ships and finally comes to the attention of Shan yos'Galen, captain of the Dutiful Passage. Quickly hired, she has difficulty coping with the incontovertable honor of the Liaden, but slowly begins to overcome her own negative self-image. As her enemies attempt to slander her and steal the honor she has built, the love and trust she finds on Shan's ship finally enables her to break the bonds of her unfortunate past.