Lieutenant Nova Whiteside, on an apparently routine assignment aboard an interstellar transport, finds herself the target of an assassination attempt. Her escape leaves her with no option but to rely on Seth, a former lover, for help. Unfortunately, she realizes that they are now on opposite sides of an escalating war between the Commonwealth Union of Planets and an increasingly dangerous rebel organization. In trying to find who is threatening her life, they discover a plot to destroy a distant planet - a world inhabited by creatures that are the key to Nova's survival - and a conspiracy that threatens the stability of the Union Commonwealth. Can Nova go beyond her strict military training to cooperate with people whom she is sworn to destroy?