#1 rule of detectives: Don't fall in love with a suspect Amid civil unrest and unusual dust storms, twenty volunteer aid workers have disappeared in the slums of a mining colony on the planet of Simoom, including the long lost lover of Security Officer Vestra Gwir. Torn by guilt and heartbreak, Vestra vows to find the truth and bring the culprits to justice. But her world is upended and her beliefs undone when she's put in charge of interrogating terrorist suspect Ann Harmony. Ann's fragile appearance belies a steely interior. Day after day she provides only cryptic answers, and warnings about a red dust that seems to have a mind of its own. In a battle of wills, Vestra has met her match in Ann, and little by little as Ann tells her story, Vestra begins to realize guilt and innocence is not easy to define. Inextricably entangled now, Vestra must unravel the truth behind the disappearances not only to avenge her old love, but to save her new love. If only the dust would stop swirling.
30 parts