History holds many secrets.The frontier holds many shadows.One ship may damn all mankind.One ship may save them. In a bold and brazen act of treachery, the Royal Martian Navy exploratory cruiser Rose was stolen and is now in the hands of the conspiracy group known as Nemesis. Guilty of a thousand crimes, Nemesis and its leader, Kent Riley, are determined to find proof of the alien threat they have secretly been preparing humanity to face.Set in pursuit by the Mage-Queen of Mars herself, Mage-Captain Roslyn Chambers commands Rose’s sister ship, Thorn, in a chase that brings her to the far reaches of the galaxy. Her orders are clear: bringing Nemesis to justice and, if at all possible, prevent them from waking a sleeping beast.Riley will find the enemy at any cost. Chambers will stop him. Among lost worlds and ancient crimes, the secrets of the past both seek may mean nothing-or everything.