Do as others do. Stay where others are. Unity is survival. It has been two months since Hwa Young and her lancer squad turned on the Empire and joined the clanner rebellion, at a terrible cost. Hwa Young is desperate to rescue her dearest friend, left in the Empire''s clutches when the squad fled, but that goes against the orders of her commanding officer in the rebellion—who is also her long-lost heart-mother, Aera. Loyalties are strained and battle-lines blur when an enemy lancer pilot reaches out to Hwa Young in secret, revealing deeper forces at work both in the Empire and among the clans. When a saboteur wrecks one of the lancers, Hwa Young wonders: is there anyone, Empire or clan, she can truly trust?