Calhoun, a med-service operative, is dispatched to the planet Dara, a world quarantined due to an outbreak of a deadly plague. The population, suffering from both illness and the stigma of being "plague-ridden," struggles to survive. As Calhoun investigates, he uncovers political conspiracies and social prejudices between Dara and its neighboring planet, Weald. Themes of isolation, xenophobia, and medical ethics run through the narrative, as Calhoun works to cure the disease and dismantle the forces behind the societal divide.