Found adrift far from Consortium space, pilot Dakota Merrick and Lucas Corso are taken prisoner by the alien Bandati. There, Dakota discovers that humanity s knowledge of the galaxy is frighteningly inaccurate. The Shoal has apparently been fighting a frontier war with a rival species, the Emissaries, for thousands of years. As yet, the latter seem unaware of their FTL technology s full destructive capabilities. But the Bandati now have this information, and they will use it for profit. Dakota realises, to her shock, that the Shoal may therefore hold the Galaxy s best chance for peace. Forging an alliance with Trader, a Shoal-member, she s determined to prevent the Bandati s deadly knowledge from reaching the Emissaries. Yet despite her efforts, a nova war now seems inevitable a war that will destroy millions of inhabited worlds.