Following his successful mission to recover the missing warship ESS Crimson, Captain John Duggan finds himself unredeemed in the eyes of his superiors. His duties resume and this time he's given something easy--escort a cargo ship to a distant planet and bring it home safely. But war is never so predictable and a straightforward mission becomes something much more important. The outcome may well determine the future of humanity. Someone has terrible plans for the ESS Crimson and Duggan is about to find himself party to endless destruction. Even as worlds die, a new threat is waiting on the horizon.