A Sudden Departure (April Book 9)

The Earth below is a house in disorder. The spacers increasingly just want to be left alone. They need less from Earth all the time so many don't really care what they do down there on the Slum Ball, but what if improving technology made it easier for them to bring all their old factions and sects and rivalries among the stars? The three partners April, Jeff and Heather hope to beat them at that game and find a firm foothold out there before the Earthies arrive.
As this is the 9th book in a series you may appreciate the details better if you start at the beginning, but I've tried to make it stand alone. The book is also laying out details leading up to the merge of the "April" series of books with the story of the "Family Law" series.