When a kidnapping attempt on the Mage-Queen of Mars is thwarted by luck, leaving thousands dead in its wake, Prince-Chancellor Damien Montgomery returns to field operations one more time. The evidence leads to one place: Tau Ceti. In Tau Ceti, Mage-Commander Roslyn Chambers finds herself without a posting as her teaching tour ends. Before she can take any kind of vacation, an old friend from her pre-Navy days shows up claiming to have information about the attempt on the Queen. Montgomery is the Mage-Queen's adoptive father and right hand man. Chambers is one of her few true friends. Neither will let the blood of innocents go unpunished. Neither believes the traitors called Nemesis are dead, but finding them may cost more than either of them can pay!