Space was the last frontier for the human race, one that they conquered with their usual unrelenting enthusiasm. But did they really? The crew of the United Space Coalition vessel Avenger is about to have that question answered. While the Avenger is out on a routine vacation tour, taking residents of Earth to the fabled Marson prison which had been abandoned fifty years prior, they come across an unidentifiable ship floating in space, having been attacked by a savage race of alien beings. Despite being warned off countless times the Avenger's Captain insists on dispatching a small team among which is one Ensign Connie Barker, an archeologist and historian. The rescue team finds only three people out of the entire crew survived, taking the mysterious survivors back to the USC Avenger, back to safety. Janus, one of the survivors whose odd silver tracings which snake all over her skin, belongs to an alien race that the humans have never before come across or even heard of. She keeps her own past and origins shrouded in mystery and darkness, though with the display of her own strange powers, it becomes obvious that Janus is a truly powerful but largely unknown element. As the Avenger crew comes under attack by the very beings they had rescued Janus from, the Avenger is catapulted across the universe and into a galactic war that the humans are totally unprepared for. What awaits is dangerous and deadly and will test the very core of their determination to survive. As the future of the universe is decided on a small, remote planet, Janus is reunited with people of her own species and the future remains full of question marks. More than the outcome of the war weighs on the minds of all thoseinvolved. Would the Avenger ever get home? Would they even survive to try and return to Earth? Among a backdrop of war and death they would do more than simply fight for their lives. Personal revelations, even historical revelations, ensue as everyone inevitably forms relationships, friendships destined to last. And perhaps more. Perhaps love.