Fruyling's World was rich in the metals that kept the Terran Confederation going - a vital link in a galaxy-wide civilization. But the men of Fruyling's World lived on borrowed time, knowing that slavery was outlawed throughout the Confederation - and that only slave labor could produce the precious metals the Confederaton needed. [Condensed from the first page blurb/summary.]

[A cast of characters, from the back cover]:
THE MASTERS:
Johnny Dodd: he had everything a man could want on Fruyling's World - except freedom from the horror of being there.
Dr. Haenlingen: icy, reserved, the architect of the system that kept men on top and aliens enslaved.
Norma: warm and human, she was Dodd's on hope for salvation.
THE SLAVES:
Cadnan: he did what he was told... until the Masters told him to die.
Marvor: the first of his race to have an independent idea - an idea that was dangerous and deadly.
Dara: green and reptilian, but beautiful enough to inspire Cadnan to the slave world's worst crime.