It's the year A.D. 3196 and Lieutenant Colonel Marion Stefanova, the three hundred-year-old commander of the famed Black Warrior Battalion, is commissioned to lead her people to begin the colonization of new worlds. The Mortalis can live forever as long as they have access to a special life-preserving plant. On their new home world, Marion and her people are continually confronted by their expectations of longevity. From the loss of her commission to the untimely death of a close friend to an alien fleet that threatens their very survival-these all provide bitter learning experiences that beg the question: if it were possible, would we truly want to live forever?