An abridged version of the adventures of a nineteenth-century boy and a runaway slave as they float down the Mississippi River on a raft.

The crew of the Liberator have a new mission. Their target is on Straxis, a planet also known as Battleground 9, a training ground for thousands of Federation troops. Has Blake finally picked a battle he cannot possibly win?

When Travis scores a victory over the Liberator crew, Blake is willing to risk everything in order to get back what is theirs. Horst Minor has many secrets. And Blake is not going to like what he finds there...

The search for Dayna takes the Liberator to Solace, a former galactic tourist trap fallen on hard times. When he loses a second member of his crew, Avon is forced to investigate a series of mysterious disappearances. As Orac and Del Grant track a radical new movement that is campaigning for the purity of Solace, a deadly trap begins to tighten. The future is Fortuitas. The future is now.

Orac has tracked Space Major Kade - the man who killed Jenna's father - to the planet Vere. Jenna wants her revenge, but Blake needs her to pilot the Liberator to Stellidar Four, where he has hopes to solve the mystery of a new Federation device...

When Del Tarrant joined the Liberator he thought he'd left his past behind him – the gallant Federation officer with friends in high places. But the past has a habit of catching up on you. A man the Liberator crew thought dead crosses their path, now a fugitive on the run. He brings talk of an alliance, of a brave new future – but is Avon prepared to make a deal with the Devil?

A voice is calling in the darkness. A voice that only Cally can hear. Vila has abandoned his crewmates, searching for the mythical water of life. With Cally acting suspiciously, Tarrant and Grant face danger at the heart of paradise. A gift is being offered. A gift that will cost one member of the Liberator crew dearly. But will Cally accept?