After eight desperate months of searching, Cal Harper and his crew still haven't discovered Kaia's whereabouts. Taken by pirates during the rescue of Federation survivors, her fate remains uncertain. But so too is the fate of humanity itself. With the destruction of Earth, the Insidions have struck a devastating blow only to sink back into the shadows to let the poison spread. Thousands of colonies have been forced into self-sufficiency, and the loss of interstellar communications is making the situation infinitely worse. Riding on the building chaos, the pirates are proving increasingly organized. So much so that Cal fears a leader may have arisen - one powerful enough to unite the disparate clans. But Cal isn't about to give up his search, not by a long shot, and his crew are sticking with him every step of the way. But trouble is brewing in ways few could have predicted, and fortunately or not, Cal and his friends have a talent for finding the worst of it.