The setting for this book is that a virus (created by humans) has decimated Earth, turning all the survivors feral. Some local aliens (the Krakau) have figured out how to reverse the effects of the virus, and are slowly curing more humans. Many of them end up joining the Alliance space force.
And so we meet our intrepid heroes, who are the cleaning crew on the space ship Pufferfish. (The Krakau’s interpretations of human history, since all they can do is look at old documents is hilarious.) Their leader is a Lieutenant nicknamed Mops, who suddenly finds herself in charge of the whole ship after a routine mission goes horribly wrong.
This author is pretty much known for being zany, and this book does not disappoint there, but it’s also surprisingly serious. Pretty much everything the humans think they know is wrong, and we’re along for an interesting ride as they regain their history.