The cataclysmic events of Star Trek: Destiny have devastated known space. Worlds have fallen. Lives have been destroyed. In the uneasy weeks that follow, the survivors continue to be tested to the limits of their endurance. In the Federation, efforts to replenish diminished resources and deliver aid to millions of evacuees are thwarted at every turn, while on the borders of the battered Klingon Empire, the devious Kinshaya sense weakness -- and opportunity. In Romulan space, the already-fractured empire is on the brink of civil war. Only one man begins to understand what is happening, as incidents which threaten to undermine the quadrant's efforts to heal itself become increasingly widespread. Sonek Pran -- teacher, diplomat, and sometime advisor to the Federation President -- sees a pattern in these apparently random events. And as each new piece of evidence falls into place, a disturbing picture begins to take shape which encompasses half the galaxy -- presenting the Federation and its allies with a challenge unlike any they have faced before!