Anglene is smoldering; the galactic insurrection is supposed to be crushed. Robbhan Locke, a Second Echelon soldier, has returned to his birth planet along with other veterans, finding Sharl Notheim holding all of Sagittarius in his mailed fist for Parl Jun the Regent. There's no redemption in homecoming. Even Marah Madán and Ged Gizabón, Robb's childhood friends, have been forced into accommodation. The Sharl won't stop squeezing until he's made maximum profit for his royal patron–and covered up all his wartime indiscretions. Heroes aren't needed here, but even a damaged man can fight…

All of Sharud is singing about a man in a hood. He could be a hero—if he wasn't so determined to destroy himself. Robb Locke is doing his best to hit bottom, and even his childhood friends Ged Gizabón and Marah Madán can't help. Explosions, riots, political unrest, assassination, and the threat of starvation are still swirling through the entire system. And now the Parl Regent Jun Planetagen's flagship has entered orbit for the First Harvest Fête. Jun has plans of his own, especially for Marah—and those plans are murderous indeed. The war is over, but "peace" is always a relative term...

Robb Locke's trapped in a high-security Panoptikon and Sharud is under embargo, the military governeur Notheim's fist is tightening around the throat of the entire system for his master Jun Planetagen, and all hope is lost. Somewhere at the edge of charted space, the true ruler of Anglene is drifting in a wrecked flagship. If Marah Madán can reach Gran Parl Riccar before the oxygen runs out, she can not only save Robb but also the rest of Anglene. It's going to take all her wit, all her resources, and a collection of spies, codejackers, rebels, and outright criminals, not to mention betraying her other childhood friend–Ged Gizabón, a dangerous adversary with secrets of his own. Anglene is boiling, ready for yet another bloody civil war–and when it ends, Jun will be not only the Parl but the unquestioned dictator of the entire galaxy. Unless Marah and her ragtag alliance can stop him. No hero ever stands alone…