Niall and his crew are just centimeters away from freedom, escaping in the stolen starship they've christened the Nova Vendetta. Then disaster strikes, paralyzing their ship. Retaken as prisoners, they find themselves traveling on the very ship that should have been their ticket to freedom.

Just when they're beginning to despair, the unthinkable happens: Experimental technology and a risky gamble put the ship under their control. The escaped prisoners head for the furthest reaches of known space, determined to stay free at any cost.

Labeled rebels and pirates and criminals, they hold to the principles that have let them survive and stay Human during their time in prison. To the outlying colonies slowly being abandoned by the disintegration of the Central Allied Worlds, the crew of the Nova Vendetta and its slowly growing fleet of allies are heroes in the truest sense of the word.

The revolution reaches out to threaten Niall's homeworld. Niall knows it's time to go home. He has to protect Sorendaal, even if it means giving himself into the hands of the very people who want him dead.