From publisher blurb: A decade ago, VTX Worldmakers arrived in the agrarian settlement of Cattledown. Days after the surveyors sent their report back to head office, a PEV (planetary-exploitation-vessel) pulled into orbit and swiftly constructed facilities for the extraction of the superheavy isotopes used by VTX Worldmaker’s astra-forming division. VTX want everything. They’re bought up the land, hired local muscle and are slowly forcing everyone that isn’t them out of town. The townsfolk aren’t going to stand for it, and there’ll be blood in the sand before they leave.