Seattle, February 2076. The Marq'ssan bring business as usual to a screeching halt all over the world, and Professor Kay Zeldin joins Robert Sedgewick, U.S. Chief of Security Services, in his war against the invaders. But as she goes head to head against the Marq'ssan, the long-buried secrets of her past resurface, and her conflicts with Sedgewick and Security Services multiply. She faces terrifying choices as her worldview, her very grip on reality, is turned inside out.