From the ashes of the outer remnants of the First Empire, a powerful rival to its ancient glory has risen. After ruthlessly dominating its neighbors, the New Empire launches yet another campaign, and this one will take it deeper than ever into the old empire's former realm. Its target is the small Hellsbridge Sub-Federation Tri-System, but when the assault begins with a force that should have been overwhelming, the result is more than puzzling. As reinforcements are fed into the battle, it quickly becomes a clash of interstellar empires, in which the fates of entire worlds ride on the outcome of a macabre chess game played on an epic scale.