As an eclectic band of heroes set out to rescue Adam's kidnapped daughter, Lila, everyone is asking what do they do when they find her? She was abducted by the three-billion-year-old Aris, beings who possess technology and genius far beyond anything in the Milky Way today. How does one fight against such technology, against such genius?

In the meantime, the galaxy is being overrun by the invaders from Andromeda whose brutal gladiator-like contests are just getting underway . . . and with the Humans their prime targets. And when Riyad Tarazi, Sherri Valentine, and Copernicus Smith set out to investigate a new Nuorean entry point, they come face-to-face with a deadly reality they weren't expecting, where the fate of every person on Earth hangs in the balance.

Yes, the galaxy is going through some major changes—as is Adam Cain. How everything works out in the end is . . . well, unexpected.