No longer safe in the Inner Core and looking to get away from everything with ties to the Jedi and his pass, Cade Skywalker heads out to the Outer Rim and finds himself on Tatooine, the planet that has played a major role in his family's history. Along for the ride, he has brought his reliable sidekicks Deliah Blue and Syn. Unfortunately, they are not as alone as they thought they were.

Moff Nyna Calixte has decided to take an interested in what he has been doing, particularly in light of the assassination attempt he made against Emperor Darth Krayt. In order to get her hands on him, she sends her own daughter Gunn Yage, a pilot in the Skulls fighter pilot team, to Tatooine to locate and capture Cade. When Gunn arrives, she is supposed to connect with Morrigan Corde, a long-time Imperial secret agency who has a lot to teach Gunn.

Morrigan has her own interests in Cade. While she is dedicated to the Empire, she is also his mother and would like to keep an eye out for him. This is not something that is known by her Imperial superiors. Because of this she is particularly frustrated when Gunn decides to get started on the hunt before she connected with Morrigan.

The two Imperial ladies are not the only people looking for Cade. The Black Sun, a long-lasting and evil group of smugglers, are also out for our hero, though they would be just as happy if he turns up dead. To achieve that goal, they have sent a trio of assassins after the not-quite Jedi.

As they are being hunted, Cade and his team find themselves trapped on the planet when a part on their ship, the Mynock needs to be replaced. They don't have the funds to do it. Cade and Syn set out to try and rustle up some funds, while Deliah decides to pretend to be a mendicant of the faithful in the hopes of collecting enough alms to buy the part. She finds herself alone until she gets help from a senior member of the organization.

This leads to an increasing level of fun for our heroes and a surprising reveal for one of the characters tied to them. All-in-all, this was a fun volume that is clearly setting up the quickly approaching conclusion in volume 10.

The final portion of the book is dedicated to a short story surrounding a Mandalorian warrior Chanon Ordo who has been serving as part of the Rogue Squadron. What role will he play in all of this?

I have been really intrigued by the mysterious familial background of Cade. We know who he is descended from over time, but his more immediate relatives are a bit of a mystery. This book provides some interesting insight that really twists how the reader views some of the characters.

These volumes are more than just action/adventure tales. There is quite a bit of character development involved.