Arlington Moore, First Machinist Mate of the RTS Selkirk, is shipwrecked in a foreign land. Separated from his crewmates, it’s taken him nearly four years to physically adapt. He’s happy with his isolation and has found a new home in a fishing village, a purpose to his life, and the love of a family he’s never known. When the matriarch of the village orders him to seek out his crewmates, he reluctantly obeys, if only to find the woman he still loves. But then Dr. Barcelona Cortes finds him. She brings with her a three-year-old child and is pursued by imperial guards from a nearby kingdom, intent on returning her to her prison.

Details the skills involved in operating milling cutters, planers, lathes, shaper tools, boring machines, grinding wheels, and drills.