Jack Ross, after serving his country in top-secret black ops missions during his early military years, realized the recently-discovered jumperdrive, a device that allows interstellar transportation, had immense possibilities - and not all of them good. The jumperdrive introduced the people of Earth to planets populated with intelligent aliens that resembled animal life-forms from Earth. One of the species, the H'kaah, agreed to a business proposition that allowed select members to live on Earth under the supervision and guidance of human hosts, their "Patrons." This experimental business deal...