Three hundred years into the future, Mankind has moved out into space, but no one has found any evidence that other alien technological civilizations actually exist. Such constitutes the Holy Grail of space exploration, and both the central federal government and the megacorporations have offered vast rewards for even a shred of evidence.

Then an artifact is found on the colony world of Avernus at Barnard's Star, and the colonists realize that it may be the proof everyone is looking for. They contact both the government and their parent corporation, and in response they send an investigator to verify its authenticity: Medb hErenn.

However, she has an ulterior motive for making the long trip. Based on the colony's description, she believes she knows what kind of artifact it is, and what it can do, and if she's right, she knows she must destroy it before the colonists can activate it.