Pilot John Barton is in an impossible situation. Bound for a remote planet in a lightweight, precision spacecraft, Barton discovers a stowaway onboard whose extra weight spells disaster for the meticulously-planned mission. Lee Cross, the unauthorized passenger, is searching for her brother, believed to be working in a mining colony on the tiny spacecraft's destination planet. Barton is ordered to eject the young woman. If she stays onboard, the ship will be too heavy to land and they'll both die. But Barton refuses and can not knowingly kill Lee. His only option is to make the ship lighter. Desperately they tear the ship apart, cutting away metal, eliminating all but the strictest of necessities. But their efforts are to no avail. As they approach the planet, the small craft is still too heavy to land. Finally they must make the fateful decision.

In the year 2010 a bankrupt seaport is in total chaos. The crisis management corporation, Wondracorp, has taken over in an attempt to enforce a state of order using ruthless methods. Key on Wondracorp's agenda is the incarceration and "rehabilitation" of a large number of street kids. Robin, a graduate of Wondracorp's elite training school is determined to discover the identity of her long-lost father. She begins a dangerous journey, meeting a fascinating and sometimes lethal array of characters as she discovers the truth about her past. Mistaken for one of the street kids, Robin soon befriends a troubled group eager to escape to a better world outside the control of Wondracorp.