Since the failure of the interplanetary communications system, the ages-long peace within The Republic of the Sphere has begun to shatter. Power-hungry factions - such as the Steel Wolves - are raiding vulnerable worlds to establish their own rule... As a gateway to Earth, the planet of Northwind has strategic value - making it an exposed target to the splintering factions emerging across The Republic - and Duchess Tara Campbell will not allow her home to fall into enemy hands. Offering military assistance, The Republic sends Paladin Ezekial Crow and his fully armed BattleMech to help defend Northwind. MechWarrior Anastasia Kerensky, she of the infamous bloodline, has her sights set on possessing Northwind - and what Anasatasia wants, Anastasia usually gets. But first she must contend with the deadly politics of the Steel Wolves before she embarks on a conquest that could lead to the very heart of The Republic itself...

The Highlanders defeated Anastasia Kerensky the last time she attacked Northwind - although she retreated with most of her troops. Now dispersed among several planets, the Highlanders will need a bigger edge if they are to end Kerensky's threat completely. A rumor places Anastasia Kerensky on Northwind. If that's true, then the Steel Wolves must be close by. Determined to locate them, Ezekial Crow and Tara Campbell order a reconnaissance - unaware that their enemy may be closer than they think. With her forces on standby, Anastasia believes that there is little the embattled Republic can do to stop her from finally making a trophy of Northwind. What she doesn't realize is that she has allies she never imagined and enemies she never suspected. It's a moment of truth for Crow, Campbell, and Kerensky, when lies emerge frm the shadows, and the fate of a world hangs in the balance.

The world of Northwind has been decimated in the battle between the Highlanders and the Steel Wolves - and now the Clan warriors set their sights on Terra. The fate of the planet rests in the hands of three MechWarriors: Ezekiel Crow: betrayer of the Highlanders - and on the run from both political and military enemies. Anastasia Kerensky: ruthless ruler of the Steel Wolves - and if she has her way, the next Conqueror of Terra. Tara Campbell: leader of the Northwind Highalnders - and Terra's only hope in its most desperate hour. The explosive conclusion to The Proving Grounds Trilogy, which includes A Silence in the Heavens and Truth and Shadows.