At home, Humanity finally makes its decision regarding membership in the Pelaran Alliance. At the same time, the Guardian makes a decision of its own, calling the entire purpose behind its five-hundred-year mission into question.

On the far side of Sajeth Collective space, the newly formed Crowned Republic of Graca experiments with technology so revolutionary that it attracts the attention of a powerful new enemy. Responding to a call for help from Prince Rugali Naftur himself, the Leadership Council must decide if rescuing a few Wek scientists is worth the risk of yet another war, this time involving direct conflict with the Pelaran Alliance itself.

Piloting a single, largely untested ship, Captain Tom Prescott and crew are once again called upon for a special mission - a trip into the heart of an empire to complete an assignment that only the Guardian itself could have envisioned.