Cadet Tessryn Ri doesn't have any lofty ambitions aside from joining the Ontara, a military branch responsible with maintaining the peace. With a few months remaining until graduation from the Academy, she and her friends make the most of their remaining time. A mysterious disease shakes Tessryn's world. As the plague leaves a trail of death across the Alliance, the leadership turns a blind eye to the growing rift in society. Separate from the political sphere, Tessryn manifests unexplained powers. In her search for answers, a sudden and startling death threatens her life and what anonymity she had in the Alliance. When the wrong people learn of her, Tessryn finds herself at the center of a conspiracy that runs deeper than the known galaxy. In order to survive, she can't look back. Even if grief threatens to tear her heart apart, a galaxy lies in peril.