“Wherever Law ends, tyranny begins.” — John Locke THERE ARE PLANETS FAR OFF THE COURSE OF CIVILIZATION ... Violent, ugly worlds where peace and justice are abstract concepts. In the cause of law and order, these distant, outlaw worlds must be tamed. Such a job requires the intervention of one exceptional peace officer ... a Stellar Ranger. A solitary Ranger fighting for justice on the galactic frontier, Cinch Carson fears no man because he’s never met anyone who has proved his equal. But one of the galaxy’s richest and most brilliant lunatics has designs on the universe—and he’s created something terrible to make his greedy dreams a reality. It’s high noon on a desert backworld called Roget, and the Stellar Ranger is finally about to meet his match—only this time, it’s not human.