On an unnamed planet in a distant sector, Starfleet, in an uneasy alliance with a mysterious new alien species of unknown origin, has discovered a secret with astounding implications that could transform the future of the entire Federation. But this secret has a price that may be more than some are willing to pay. The secret first turns Data against Starfleet, then draws Jean-Luc Picard and the Starship Enterprise into a tense and dangerous situation that has unexpected effects on every member of the crew – and presents them with an agonizing moral dilemma. Faced with orders he cannot obey and a crisis he cannot ignore, Picard finds himself torn between his conscience and his uniform.