The Admiral Saga continues. In exchange for her help with apprehending the Admiral at Shangri La, the Imperium has chosen to overlook Private Tessa Salmagard's indiscretions. She's back aboard the flagship with Ensign Nils and Lieutenant Deilani, and she has a once in a lifetime opportunity: the Empress herself is aboard the Julian, and Salmagard's unit has a chance to protect her. But Salmagard hasn't been herself since Shangri La, and she fails to re-qualify for active duty. Worse, she learns that the Admiral is alive and in New Brittia, dominating the galactic news cycle. Salmagard has twenty-four hours to try to salvage her career, and the Admiral's deadly predicament is a distraction she doesn't need. With the truth about the destruction of Little Norwich still clouded, and the shadow of another war looming, the future hangs in the balance. The Admiral is only one of the forces moving to influence the outcome of the Empress' peace talks. Meanwhile, another unstoppable Evagardian war rages in the shadows at the highest levels of the Imperium, but everything is coming out into the light.