With the human population ravaged by a series of devastating plagues, the alien Chtorr arrive to begin the final phase of their invasion. Even as many on Earth deny their existence, the giant wormlike carnivores prepare the world for the ultimate violation—the enslavement of humanity for food!

McCarthy was drafted from his college biology studies and became a member of the Special Forces. Then he is given the opportunity to contact the Chtorr, but when a helicopter crash leaves him and his companions stranded in enemy territory, he must decide whether to communicate with the Chtorr—or kill them!

Still reeling from the alien plagues that killed two-thirds of the planet's population, humanity now confronts the most deadly enemy Earth has ever known - the giant man-eating Chtorr. Lieutenant James McCarthy has grown to manhood under the shadow of the terrifying invasion of the Chtorr. As a student, he learned all he could to understand their alien behavior. As a Special Forces commando, he made violent first contact. Now this battle-hardened warrior faces a profound challenge. Captured by an anarchistic band of men and women known as renegades, McCarthy must secretly gather vital information while fighting indoctrination into their cult - which serves and worships the Chtorr.

From the author of the Star Trek novel, Encounter at Far Point comes the fourth book in his riveting epic of alien invasion and conquest. Only luck, sheer will and an incredible ability to adapt will bring the expedition to safety, when a Special Forces commando and a scientist lead a group of experts into the heart of the alien invasion in South America.