Hell hath no fury like a protocol scorned!

Training as a combat pilot on Mars, Kieran Roark is tantalizingly close to remembering the critical concept he was brought back to lead. With the military establishment, including his instructors, against him, his success hinges on finding the right ally, someone who is willing to risk everything.

Sixty million miles away, the Sleeper Program suffers a failure much worse than it originally appears. The second subject, a troubled young woman, attempts suicide. In the ensuring chaos, Kieran's original protocol finds a way to manifest herself in a human body. Believing Kieran dead, Mally seeks out everyone Kieran loves with vengeance on her mind.

As a shadowy foe presses toward Eart once again, the Terran Council orders the Sleeper Program terminated and sentences Kieran to death. The only person capable of saving him isn't really a person at all.