Drew Townsend and his surviving crew are back in business, aboard a new and improved Daisy Hub and with a new mission, one that will cement Humanity's place among the stars - but it could take years to complete. Earth Intelligence operatives have been sent to Stragon to protect the Terran colony there by heading off an impending civil war - but good and bad keep changing places, and appearances cannot be trusted. And on Earth, the Reformation has had dangerous consequences for Barry Novak and Juno Vargas, as they struggle to neutralize an old enemy - but the truth isn't what they thought it was. In the 25th century, the past is a puzzle, the present is a minefield - and the future is a mirror, wherein Earth's true identity lies.