Naval Academy Commandant Nicholas Seafort is a legend to the masses, an idol to his hundreds of teen cadets. They don't see the tormented soul of a man who believes that merciless duty has led him to betray every friend he ever loved, every ideal he ever cherished. After a lifelong ordeal, Seafort needs time. Time to reflect. Time to heal.

Instead he is pulled into a maelstrom of crisis, corruption, and danger as the helpless, unprepared Earth faces annihilation from a horde of alien attackers. Alone at the center of a cosmic apocalypse, Nick Seafort must face his final battle...

And his most unforgivable sin.