A prototype spaceship has been stolen from a Skyward military base. On board are five of the most unlikely hijackers the future world of Abode has ever seen... Cosmo, an Skyward cadet with strange friends in stranger places; Scorch, a hot-headed throwback to a far more romantic time; Chandra, a student with secret strengths and weaknesses, marooned on Abode; Shimmer, not human, not a robot, perhaps a double agent fro the government and alien Neverending alike; and Rosie, a cheerful somethingorother with a very long history.
What mission these young Rebels are on, no one on board or off seems to know. But it doubtless has something to do with the mystical artifact they've acquired - a tiny, glowing replica of a palace. Meanwhile, Skyward command wants their stealth ship back or, failing that, its immediate and total destruction...