After a short coma, Rachel wakes up under mysterious circumstances. She works hard to recover her fitness, but when she finally returns to Central Command, she finds that many things have changed in her absence.
Gail Thompson has been exiled, and Lord Hades has appointed a new leader of the Security Forces. Rachel must prove herself like never before. She hunts down new Kamari bases, and enlists the help of the Implants, but strange things keep happening to her, and she still doesn't understand why.
Only Lord Hades knows what's really going on, but the price of listening to him may be too great to bear. Time is running out. Rachel must find the traitors amongst them and help make Central Command stronger than it has ever been before.
Meanwhile, the guilds demand to see the Council of Lords. When their prayers are finally answered, they discover just how little they know about their absent masters.