Naval Intelligence Commander Jade Lafrey retrieves a dying agent's last report from the wreckage of his ship, and stumbles into a conspiracy that may destroy any chance for peace between the Terran Hegemony and the alien Gara'nesh Suzerainty. The garbled message implies that someone is developing the ultimate weapon - but who? Together with her super-geek aide and an Information Officer she's not sure can be trusted, Jade must negotiate both the treacherous...