A Hillcat and his human minions fight to save humanity. Hostile humans and mutant creatures try to keep them from rebuilding society.Following a civil war on the earth colonized world of Cygnus VII, humanity and its creations rise again. Free Trader Braden and his mindlinked Hillcat determine that their fortune lies to the south, away from what passes for civilization. Braden gathers engineered (mutant) creatures to him for a trip south of the Great Desert where he hopes to find Old Tech that he can trade for untold riches. The more he learns about the ancients, the more he wants to learn. Along the way, he establishes a new ideal regarding trade and collaboration in an area where trust of strangers is unknown. Braden and his companions find functioning Old Tech that has the potential to change their world for the better or worse, depending on what they decide.