With a new invasion from a previously unknown race threatening the Federation capital, Darhel Tir Dal Ron faces his ultimate nightmare: He is going to have to reinstate the one man human soldiers trust, a man with the power and knowledge to destroy the Darhel oligarchy forever--General Michael O'Neal--and convince him, against all logic, to save the Darhel.

Plucked from the maelstrom on Earth the Posleen are cast out into the eternal blackness of the stars with only a slightly insane Indowy and a computer virus to guide them. What follows is a trail of tears and remembrance as the Posleen retrace the footsteps of their ancestors in a search for their homeworld.