Rafa feels safe in witness protection until a former FBI partner is murdered, and he's arrested for the crime. He can't divulge enough truth to get off-it would endanger his new family. Sentenced to life in prison and heartbroken by his wife's rejection, he trades cell time for a one-way ticket off-planet and becomes a disposable employee for a company prospecting the galactic frontier. Explorers get implants that transmit their neural impulses back to scientists on Earth, providing a vicarious reality of sight and sound. They are nicknamed "vikings," and on most assignments they die quickly. But Rafa's mission turns out to be far from ordinary. His employer is up to something, and so are his old connections in crime and law enforcement. Can Rafa survive alien wilds and his brutal crewmates? What secret is driving the manipulations of his human puppeteers?