With five legions at her disposal and her own enhanced, demi-human nervous system, Faustina Hartmann has nearly conquered all of what had been the Deep South. Work on the rail lines continues as well as the bridge over the Mississippi, to move badly needed uranium ore from Texas to Knoxville. There remain two holdouts: the former US Army base of Fort Benning and the city of Atlanta.

Choosing to strike the military base first, Faustina is horrified to find it is controlled not only by another demi-human who can draw upon the power of a quantum supercomputer but that she is outnumbered in infantry and has no tanks to their brigade of armor. Pulling four of her five legions together, Faustina uses both her knowledge of history and her modified mind to devise a plan. Realizing she cannot do this alone, she reaches out to the Thinking Machines, knowing they will demand a severe price for their help.

And, even if she wins, Atlanta lies to the north, where a house-to-house fight would break the back of her army. Marshaling her friends and allies, Faustina marches out, daring to put it all to the touch, to win or lose it all, in this concluding volume of the American Imperium trilogy.