The dangerous alien civilization in the Styx Nebula has finally brought all of humanity back together. The civilized planets in the Wilds and Union have combined forces to prevent the aliens from coming out of the Nebula to attack mankind’s populated planets. The Union has surrounded the nebula with its most advanced warships and is prepared to attack anything that appears out of the dust. But going inside the nebula has proven to be close to outright suicide; no warship that’s gone in to scout the nebula has come out. Something is going on and to delay finding out could prove to be disastrous. Jingle had bowed out of the war and had made it clear she wanted no future part in it. But she discovers that Alex is planning to take a scout into the Nebula and Admiral Glennon asks her to help talk him out of it. She reluctantly agrees and once again finds herself in the middle of events. But this time, the threat facing humanity has made a sinister turn for the worse. The aliens in the Styx Nebula are no longer the only danger facing the Union. The only way to begin to understand what’s going on is for Alex and Jingle to cross the Styx.