The enemy fleet has broken out from Maxis and entered the Sol system. Earth itself will soon be under attack.

For Commander Jackson Flynn and the crew of RSS Repulse, the war against the Han has taken a terrible turn, and to make matters worse, his XO, Lieutenant Commander Jan Fuchida, is in a med bay fighting for her life.

The Republic Defense Forces have split into two camps—those loyal to President Drake Ellison's dictatorial Third Republic, and those committed to the ideals of the true Republic, led by Admirals Shane McClusky and Riker Jameson at Fletcher Point. But a Republic civil war will have to wait.

As the Republic's First Fleet engages First Admiral Vasily Turgenev's Grand Fleet in a battle for Earth's survival, Admiral Riker Jameson makes a move his enemy counterpart cannot expect, a strategic gamble Jameson knows could save Earth from complete destruction, or lose the war completely.

As the specter of unrestrained, total war erupts across the light years, Jackson Flynn knows the next battle for Repulse and her crew—and, unexpectedly, for Jan Fuchida as well—may be their last.