In a sector of the galaxy occupied by Earth-descended people, one berserker computer has suddenly and mysteriously developed a tactical strategy unlike anything the human opposition has seen before. Shiva, like the Hindu god of destruction after which it was named, annihilates entire colonies with the help of its fiendish subordinates.

Commander Claire Normandy struggles to prepare for Shiva's attacks, while Pilot Harry Silver realizes that he must deal with his own demons in order to help her. When a decision is made to destroy the destroyer, neither side is prepared for the incredible risks that emerge as the attack becomes imminent. Can either side face the possibility that something wholly unexpected and eerily familiar lies gnarled within the steel?