Travis Fox, once the unwilling captive of the runaway spaceship Galactic Derelict, has volunteered - eagerly this time - for the mission to colonize Topaz. But when he and his fellow apaches find themselves reverting to the ways of their ancient warrior-race, just as the expedition from Russia has been transformed into a Mongol Horde encamped across the mountains, it becomes clear that more than their own lives is at stake...