It is a fixup of several of Steele's previously-published short stories, beginning with Stealing Alabama in the January 2001 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction.

The series has been noted for the constructed Lemarean Calendar the author created for its inhabited extrasolar moon, Coyote.

The United Republic of America, under an authoritarian conservative New Christian Right regime constructed after the Second American Revolution, is managed by Liberty Party autocrats.

It faces economic sanctions from other powers due to its repressive and xenophobic policies, notably its unilateral establishment of an orbiting nuclear weapons delivery system.

Working with a handful of conspirators, Lee manages to alter the computer software and override the clearance codes.

So the crew of 104 soldiers, scientists, and civilians were put in biostasis, to be awakened from their virtual immortality by the ship's AI 226 years into the future.

After a brief chat with the AI, Gillis learns that Eric Gunther was originally scheduled to awaken three months into the trip.

During his solitary life, he does everything he can to keep from going insane, attempting to eat and sleep at regular hours, reading all of the books available, playing chess against the AI, writing stories, and painting.

Using practically all of the ship's art supplies, Gillis creates a story about a prince named Rupurt and the fantastic alien world he lives in.