The year is 2494. Almost five years ago, Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay were members of the Heaven's Devils, an elite Confederate marine unit praised for its nerves of steel and combat expertise. After making a stand against their corrupt commanding officer, the two men were forced to go AWOL or risk being unjustly prosecuted and resocialized. Now, Raynor and Findlay are outlaws hounded by an unyielding interstellar marshal. Life, however, has never been better. Each day is another chance to pilfer more credits from the Confederacy's deep coffers. Each night holds the promise of spending their hard-earned profits in bars, brothels, and gambling halls. But a man can only run so far before the law-and his past-catches up with him.