The two head for the planet Uldune, formerly a pirate stronghold but now a place to buy anything, where they rebuild the ship and assume new identities in preparation for starting a trading business.

Finally the newly renamed Evening Bird lifts off for the planet Emris via a shorter but far more dangerous route through an area of space called the Chaladoor.

The captain is having increasingly odd interactions with an immensely powerful alien presence called a vatch, which seems to be manipulating events and watching with glee.

Then the second passenger, Laes Yango, drugs everyone on board and redirects the ship for his purposes: he is actually the leader of a feared fleet of space pirates in the Chaladoor, and he is also after the Sheewash Drive.

When the Leewit shows up – thrown through space and time by the vatch – Goth and the captain learn that the witches of Karres have attacked the Worm World.

The captain and Goth are only hours into their first courier mission when Vezzarn and Hulik enter the control room, admitting that they stowed away and asking to join his crew.

A sequel, The Wizard of Karres, written by Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer, was published by Baen Books in 2004, featuring the same characters as the original novel.

The Sorceress of Karres, written by Eric Flint and Dave Freer, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2010 and continues the story with the return of most of the characters.

In a generally positive review, David Langford commented that the "plot isn't really defensible", but that overall the novel is "saved by pace and good humour", and that "its tone is genuinely light".