Andrew Dahl's assignment to the Intrepid, the flagship of the Universal Union's space fleet, made him feel very fortunate ... at first. But something's not quite right in the 25th Century. There's an unusually high number of casualties on away missions, problems are solved by a mysterious Box, and the laws of physics and common sense often seem to be ignored. The only conclusion he and his friends arrive at is preposterous. And to make things right, they will have to go on a rogue mission of their own to the most unlikeliest of places. This Hugo Award-winning novel takes a unique approach to deliver an intriguing and laugh-out loud funny story. Three codas following the novel provide satisfying ends to loose threads.