A mysterious message arrives on Cygnus. For better or worse, Hobs and Archon decide to follow the message to its source. Nothing has prepared them for what they find on Bannatyne. Hobs is launched on an up and down emotional ride as he encounters new friends and discovers new enemies, both human and Scarian. The battle lines have been drawn; the galaxy finds itself once more on the verge of war and Hobs is in the middle of the maelstrom. How far is he willing to go to save his friends old and new? What is he willing to sacrifice to see Valara rise from the ashes of obscurity?