A peaceful organization of civilized planets is faced with a threat to their very existence. Desperate to save themselves, they turn for help to the most brutal, backward, violent species in the known galaxy: humans.
Growing up in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event known as "The Bad Week" hasn't been easy for Cross Agarwal. Decades ago, in a world before The Bad Week, he would have been graduating from college, starting a career, and living on his own. But in a post-apocalyptic time when mankind is in ruins and on the verge of self-destruction, Cross works in his father's subterranean cobra farm, tries to avoid getting involved in the turf war between his town and the Southern Basin, and wonders if his future will ever be anything but bleak. When a group of aliens appears by surprise and invites a select group of humans to join them, it could be Cross's chance to not only find his own place in the universe, but to also help prove that humanity is good for more than just violence.
