To fight the Infected, the Guardians needed the ability to draw them out, to take them on in circumstances of their own choosing. That tactic ended with the destruction of the Mana'thiandriel, enchanted artifacts used to gather the Infected, in a battle which not only convinced the world the problem was real, but also sealed the fate of humankind. With limited resources, and plagued by heartbreak and loss, the defenders of Earth need a new plan. Scan thinks there may be a way out—he believes he can trace the magic of the alien interplanetary travel, and return the Guardians to the origin of their one-way trip. "Return the Guardians, get more Mana'thiandriel, save the Earth... easy peasy." If only it were that simple. Can the ragtag gang, thrown together by happenstance, fight their way through their own history, navigate a web of deceit, and find their way to a path that saves the Earth?