Abigail Olivaw, revered as humanity’s leader and keeper of its darkest secret, never wanted to be the one who brought about its extinction.

The galaxy will remember her as either humanity’s savior or its executioner: the woman who guided her species to the stars, or the president who led them to their final judgment. But Abigail was not a villain. She was not a hero. She was merely the latest in a line of secret-keepers, doing what she thought was right.

Now, as an alien armada approaches Earth, she stands trial before the Galactic Alliance for crimes centuries in the making. Each lie she tells to save humanity pulls her deeper into a web of deception her own family wove generations ago.

Light-years away, Colony Director Joyce Green faces her own impossible choice. As a mysterious virus claims her son’s life and moon-sized alien vessels loom around Epsilon Eridani, she uncovers a truth more devastating than any disease. What begins as a mother’s quest for justice becomes a desperate race to save what remains of human civilization.

Neither woman started this war. Neither chose to be their people’s last hope. But as an impenetrable darkness spreads throughout the stars, both discover their real enemy isn’t the alien fleet—but the lies behind humanity’s origins.