Humanity was not the first species to walk among the stars. Their existence is a mere blink of an eye to those immortal beings that still exist, concealed, all around. Now a discovery has been made that may lead to a savage upheaval in their aeon-long dormancy. Newly promoted Ultramarines Captain Uriel Ventris is assigned to investigate Pavonis, an Imperial planet plagued by civil disorder and renegade eldar raiders.

But nothing is as straightforward as it appears, and wheels are turning within wheels. Uriel and his allies are forced into a deadly race against time to destroy their shadowy enemy - or the whole planet must be sacrificed for the good of humanity.