Linguist and scoundrel Sean Wren is in trouble. Again. And this time, his sentence is to salvage the data of the Philosopher Stone experiments from an abandoned, long lost ship--before it explodes in a supernova.

But this spaceship isn't as abandoned as they thought. When Sean arrives with his crew, they discover the place is crawling with monsters, and some of its original residents still lurk in the shadows. Dark secrets are scrawled in languages only Sean can read. Worse, the Ministers, humanity's greatest oppressors, are also stalking the ship's empty corridors, seeking the same data.

Trapped and with time running out, Sean will have to rely on his wits, his closest friend Benny, the monsters within, and the enemies around him to get out with the riches he was promised.