When a scouting mission in an uncharted system discovers signs of a world all but abandoned, the Tilbaran High Council sends Tsark Maladan and the small crew of the starship Tikuri Orao a hundred light years from home to investigate. On a mission to help save their world, a search for answers leads to more puzzling questions, and Tsark begins to fear that some among his crew may have their own hidden agenda. Tom Jacobsen is the unofficial leader of a small band of humans driven into the forested hills near Denver, Colorado—a now abandoned city they once called home. Their numbers dwindling almost daily; they must constantly fight or run to survive. Somehow, these two unlikely groups must find a way to put aside their many differences and work together against a common foe. The future of both worlds depends on it.