The time - six months prior to the launch of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701B and the tragic loss of Captain James T. Kirk in deep space.

The place - Earth, where the galaxy's most renowned hero must now face the spectre of retirement and a life devoid of challenge and excitement.

But in the apparent twilight of his career, Kirk's path takes an unexpected turn when a mysterious young woman offers him an irresistible adventure - a perilous voyage to an uncharted planet where he will confront the ultimate threat to the fragile peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, and the ultimate temptation - a chance to actually recapture his youth.

Turning his back on his friends, Spock and McCoy, and hunted by Captain Sulu's U.S.S. Excelsior, Kirk soon stands alone as defender of a world of incredible vitality and sensual beauty where he must choose between conquering the gravest challenge of his career, or surrendering to the greatest passion of his life.