Eduardo Olmos

Following “the life in the kitchen of a vast New York City restaurant where all the cultures of the world mix during the lunchtime rush.”

Federation Officer Shapiro crash-lands on a desert planet with no sign of water, life, or a way off. Her crew-mate Rand is no help, resigned to his fate on the hypnotic alien dunes. Locating the ship's emergency beacon is their only hope, but when a salvage crew answers their distress signal, it's already too late.