Trilby Elliot grew up on the fringes of Conclave society, but now she's a legal -- well, mostly legal -- independent trader with her own starship, the Careless Venture. So what if half the equipment on board doesn't work, the other half is eighty years out of date, and none of the parts actually match? And so what if she and her copilot, a talkative 'droid named Dezi, are currently holed up on a forgotten planet while they cobble together a slipshod repair job in preparation for her next trade jaunt? It's business as usual, for Trilby... at least, until she watches a 'Sko fighter ship crash-land on "her" planet. Her initial intention is to leave the pilot for dead and salvage the wreckage for sale on a civilized world, but when she discovers that the pilot is not a 'Sko, but a Zafharin military officer, her plans -- and her life -- change. Initially, the change doesn't look like it's going to be for the better.

For starters, Rhis Vanur is everything she expects from a Zafharin: Stuck-up, arrogant, and domineering. (He is also brilliant, charismatic, and far too handsome for his own good.) For another, dropping him off somewhere he can make contact with his own people is going to put her seriously off her route. But those things become the last of her worries when the 'Sko come hunting both of them. Trilby and Rhis must elude the deadly fighters and discover what secret the Careless Venture holds, or both the Conclave and Zafharin will suffer. And speaking of secrets, Rhis has a few of his own...

FINDERS KEEPERS leaps right into the action, but it still may feel like a slow start to readers. Trilby and Rhis are compelling and easy to like, but the fast-paced chemistry between them seems forced in the beginning, and almost overwhelms the foundation of the plot. But hang in there: About a hundred pages in, the book takes an abrupt turn for the enthralling, developing layers of complexity and intrigue that the opening chapters somehow miss. The universe Ms. Sinclair envisions is vibrant, filled with enticing characters who obviously have their own lives and their own stories to tell. As the number in the corner of the page climbs, this book becomes harder and harder to put down, and by its conclusion, any fan of sci-fi will decide it is well worth the read.