When faced with annihilation every deplorable response is acceptable. What happens when a simple recon mission goes sideways? What should the Wests do when they find the trap they've set is turned against them with deadly intent? Raven West and her brother, Gideon, must face a vicious enemy whose vocabulary doesn't include the word 'Mercy.' Can she and he turn the tables back in their favor to win the day? To the Confederate forces massing against her, it doesn't seem likely . . . but then, they haven't met Raven.

Nine years after the rescue at Atheron, a battle is coming. This battle can't be won and Raven West knows it. Worse, she's the only one who knows the terrain and tactics needed just to survive. She'll have to convince Major Richardson she can not only fight with seasoned soldiers, but lead them as well. Things begin to get out of hand when Jake Ryder shows up. War, profiteering, and greed are a bad mixture, Jake makes them a hobby. Betrayal sucks and can hurt like hell but sometimes you have to trust the people around you. Like a bad poker hand she'll have to make the best use of the people...

I'm a killer. I don't remember every face of every victim but I remember this: that look in the eyes of someone facing their end, the mixture of fear, resentment, resignation. It was my job, just my job. I stole lives. Now they-the men, the women and, God help me, the children-steal my sleep, my peace of mind, my soul. I am a haunted man. This government asked too much from its soldiers. It asked too much from its citizens. It asks too much from me. Now, I'm asking for something. . . . To get my soul back. Kicking fate in the teeth, Capt. Stanley West goes off the grid, slips quietly off...