Sentenced to ten years hard labor on a prison planet means the end of Nia’s protected existence as the emperor’s ‘pet’. But her welcome among her own people isn’t assured, and the man assigned as her bond holder makes his disgust of her all too clear. Can Nia convince her peers that she has valuable information that might prevent the eradication of their telepathic race or will their distrust of her cause them to miss the opportunity to soar?

After escaping from Heliodor and the wrath of the empire, Nia and the crew head to Earth to forge new alliances. Before Nia can investigate some unsettling information about her own family, they must leave, taking onboard fresh crew members in their quest to reach smaller Adamite communities and warn them of the emperor’s plans. As new relationships are formed and old ones tested, Brec finds himself drawn to Peri, a reluctant recruit from Earth who wants nothing to do with him. But the emperor’s diabolical schemes reach further than anyone imagined, and when the journey is disrupted by an anomaly, the crew realize that nothing will ever be the same again...