It was the first novel written by Dillard, and featured the debut of Lt. Ingrid Tomson who went on to appear in several further Star Trek works.

Before she wrote any Star Trek novels, Dillard described herself as a secret fan of the series and would smuggle the books into her home so that her husband didn't know that she read them.

[1] After a year, she hadn't received a response and so chased the editor of Pocket Books for progress, only to find that they had lost her draft.

One of the characters in the novel was based on her experiences with the University, after it hired her back and sacked the person who had fired her.

[1] The character would go on to appear in other Star Trek books by Dillard as well as those by other authors such as Time for Yesterday by Ann Crispin.