The Highlanders defeated Anastasia Kerensky the last time she attacked Northwind - although she retreated with most of her troops. Now dispersed among several planets, the Highlanders will need a bigger edge if they are to end Kerensky's threat completely. A rumor places Anastasia Kerensky on Northwind. If that's true, then the Steel Wolves must be close by. Determined to locate them, Ezekial Crow and Tara Campbell order a reconnaissance - unaware that their enemy may be closer than they think. With her forces on standby, Anastasia believes that there is little the embattled Republic can do to stop her from finally making a trophy of Northwind. What she doesn't realize is that she has allies she never imagined and enemies she never suspected. It's a moment of truth for Crow, Campbell, and Kerensky, when lies emerge frm the shadows, and the fate of a world hangs in the balance.