As the least favored child, it was no surprise when Rivka's father selects her, at age six, to comply with the country's conscript law. Sent away to the military to be raised and trained, she struggles to keep from falling into an abyss of despair. Only when she adopts a new friend's dream of becoming a member of the elite Black Guard does she find a new reason to live. Few make it into the Black Guard, but Rivka is determined. Yet when she makes it and is sent on her first mission, to protect a ruling family during a revolution, she discovers to her dismay that the Black Guard may not be as perfect as she had believed. Thus Rivka begins a journey that will change her and the Black Guard forever.

The Raider clans have been defeated and their planet under the supervision of the Riss, with Captain Reese the station commander. But while Reese see the Clans as on probation, many in the SAS task force she commands, perceive them as prisoners and hope to break the Treaty in order to get revenge. As Nadya attempts to maintain the fragile peace, the three empires are being invaded. They know the invading force is far more technology advanced than the SAS. But who are they, where did they come from, and what do they want? One thing appears certain. The SAS cannot defeat the aliens alone. But can they overcome their prejudices against the Riss, hatred of the clans, and long years of distrust with the other empires, combine forces and technology to meet the challenge. The fate of the three empires, Riss, and the Raider clans may depend on it.