Reza Gard is caught up in a daring plot to assassinate the Confederation President, even as something goes terribly wrong in the Empire and its warriors lose their will to fight. Reunited with Tesh-Dar, Reza and his friends fight to save the woman he loves, with the fate of the Empire and Humanity hanging in the balance.
Reza Gard awakens in a hospital on Earth after having been in a coma for months. Charged with murder and high treason, he finds himself the scapegoat for a daring plot to assassinate the President of the Confederation.
Escaping with the help of Jodi Mackenzie, who is now hunted for what she knows about the death of the president, Reza discovers that something is deeply wrong with the Empire: the warriors have lost their will to fight. Compelled to step into a trap set for him and Jodi, the two once again find themselves bound for Erlang.
But this time it is to meet Tesh-Dar, who has been taken prisoner. Captured and sentenced to death, Reza can only watch as a human armada gathers for a strike against the Kreelan homeworld. But the human fleet – and humanity itself – will be doomed to utter annihilation unless he can reach the Empress in time…
