History holds many secrets. The frontier holds many shadows. One ship may damn all mankind. One ship may save them. In a bold and brazen act of treachery, the Royal Martian Navy exploratory cruiser Rose was stolen and is now in the hands of the conspiracy group known as Nemesis. Guilty of a thousand crimes, Nemesis and its leader, Kent Riley, are determined to find proof of the alien threat they have secretly been preparing humanity to face. Set in pursuit by the Mage-Queen of Mars herself, Mage-Captain Roslyn Chambers commands Rose's sister ship, Thorn, in a chase that brings her to the far reaches of the galaxy. Her orders are clear: bringing Nemesis to justice and, if at all possible, prevent them from waking a sleeping beast. Riley will find the enemy at any cost. Chambers will stop him. Among lost worlds and ancient crimes, the secrets of the past both seek may mean nothing-or everything.