Peace in the Galaxy hangs in the balance. Amid rising inter-species tensions, brilliant systems Engineer Allysha Marten takes one last job to rid her of debts and her cheating husband. On the mysterious planet Tisyphor she meets a security guard who wins her trust and her affection. Like her, he suspects that there's more to the operation on Tisyphor than reopening an abandoned mine. Together, they uncover a plot that threatens to plunge the Galaxy into inter-species war. As they scramble to prevent the coming holocaust, Allysha is horrified to learn that her new lover is ex-Admiral Chaka Saahren, the man the Ptorix call Chozhu the Destroyer, the man responsible for the death of her father, along with millions of other innocent civilians. In a race against time, Saahren must convince Allysha to set aside her conflicted emotions about him to help him prevent the coming conflagration. And perhaps while he's doing that, he'll win back the only woman he's ever loved.

Grand Admiral Chaka Saahren has the rewards of rank …but he doesn’t have Systems Engineer Allysha Marten. Determined to keep her safe, Saahren will go to any lengths to win back the woman he loves. Allysha agrees to temporary employment by the Fleet, hoping to avoid at all costs the man she believes responsible for the death of innocent civilians, including her estranged father. Sean O’Reilly has a plan… …and it involves hijacking Allysha and convincing her, one way or another, to do just one more job—a job that would clear his debts and save his hide. Allysha Marten must come to terms with her feelings… …in the face of a reality that suggests she is a pawn in a growing power struggle, one where she will need all her skills and cunning to outwit a heinous plot that could result in the loss of billions of human lives. When Allysha decides to tackle the conspirators on her own, she forces an impossible choice on… The Iron Admiral.