In five short centuries, the mighty Empire of the M,xica, descendants of the ancient Aztecs, has spread out to conquer the earth. Now it is ready to leave the homeworld and set its sights on the star. But the universe it finds is a dangerous place filled with hidden powers. Humanity is only a minor space-faring species on the fringe of a ferociously political arena where ancient and enormous alien empires are engaged in millennia-old struggles for supremacy.

Now, on a desolate, barren world far from the heart of civilization, Gretchen Andersson, a young human xeno-archeologist is about to discover an awesome, long-buried secret that could alter the galactic balance of power forever.