A.D. 3485

Twenty-year-old Taylor Neeran is settling in to her new life on the forest planet called Aeden, but all is not well in paradise. She has sent messages off to the stars to let the crew know she is alive, and hopes that one day her mother and the crew will return. She has also transmitted details about the Illiya and the exotic wonders of the planet to the crew of the Zanzibar and the University, but others have intercepted her messages.

A ship arrives bearing comforts of home, and a terrible secret. When the visitors' true purpose is revealed, Taylor finds herself fighting to defend her new home alongside unexpected allies.

Trapped on an alien planet ten thousand light years from Earth, Taylor will soon bear witness to the fate of Aeden as the planet is engulfed in a war they have no hope of winning...