Ron Jordan enters Halo City on Ceres disguised as a broken, drugged-out drifter, swallowing insult and abuse while secretly hunting the black freighter Lucifer—the ship tied to the false charges that ruined his brother Carl's life. In the lawless pirate world of Martians, smugglers, and hidden weapons, he tracks the vessel through the shadowy spaceport, uncovers its true identity, and boards it with a concealed pistol, only to be captured before he can confront Captain Tarnuff. Regaining consciousness aboard a ship buried in Ceres, Ron fights free, kills the hulking Jovian Oruk, and seizes control long enough to force the ship into space. He corners Tarnuff for a confession, but the captain reveals a deadly trap: the Lucifer is loaded with illegal Silicytes, making Ron vulnerable to arrest if he brings the ship in. What follows is a brutal Martian duel of nerve and deception across the hull, where Ron uses every scrap of cunning to survive. As the contest escalates, Tarnuff's tricks, a reverse-firing pistol, and a swarm of Silicytes devouring the ship turn vengeance into a race against annihilation. With the Patrol closing in, Ron's final shot and a last-minute arrival at last expose the truth and clear Carl's name. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.