 Rico's ancestry is depicted to be a thing of no consequence; the society he lives in appears to have abandoned racial and gender-based prejudice.The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette transport "Rodger Young" (named after Medal of Honor recipient Rodger Wilton Young), serving with the platoon known as "Rasczak's Roughnecks".The platoon carries out a raid against a planetary colony held by Skinnies.