Shortly after the birth of Jerel Telmon, the galaxy changed around her. The Oligarchy that had ruled over the section of the Milky Way known as The Sword of Orion was overthrown by an alliance led by Jerel's parents. The infant Jerel was spirited away from the final battle with only moments to spare. Sixteen years later, Jerel Telmon lives happily with her uncle Orned on a planet that was once under the heavy hand of the Oligarchy and is still trying to find its way as a free society. A typical teenager of her highly urbanized world, Jerel's life consists of school, a part-time job, and a maybe-boyfriend until the day she is kidnapped by agents of the not-quite-dead Oligarchy as part of their plan to revive their regime. Jerel escapes her captors only to find that she is somehow a pivotal piece in a game being played out on a galactic scale. Now she, along with her uncle, and an alien warrior who had fought at her parents' sides, must flee not just the only home she's ever known, but the only world she has known.