The Terran military, the Astral Force, launches a mission to crush a colonial rebellion on the Centauri colony. Although Expeditionary Force 15 succeeds, the surviving veterans remain scarred—physically and emotionally, and the consequences of their actions follow them back to Earth when terrorists seek to exact catastrophic revenge. Bennett Coles served 15 years in the Canadian Navy as a bridge officer, boarding party officer, warfare officer, and navigator, and served a pair of tours in the Middle East as a UN Military Observer. A rising Canadian author, he led the maverick publisher Promontory Press, supporting Canadian and American writers.