M. Stephen Stewart

In the future, the unauthorized dissemination of knowledge is a grave crime, and Geneticist Samantha Vanay is a career criminal. Through secret teachings, she and her only friend, Rachel MacArthur, have become major players in an illicit empire of knowledge brokers—thanks to a delicate alliance with one very powerful, very mysterious man known solely as The Red Merchant.

On the hunt for a big payout, Doctor Vanay pushes too far, too fast, bringing her into the crosshairs of Planetary Link Corporation, her country’s ruling power. The heat doesn't bother Vanay. She has a plan—keep her mouth shut and stay in The Red Merchant’s good graces no matter what happens. But all that changes when Rachel starts cracking under the pressure.