Fourteen years have passed since the events of REQUIEM.

Nika Kirumase joins Alex and Caleb for dinner at their home on Akeso. They share the story of how humanity ended up in Amaranthe and fill her in on Concord, the multi-species government that has taken the place of the deposed Anaden Directorate.

Marlee Marano, Caleb’s niece, is on the planet Savrak as part of her work for the Concord Consulate. The Savrakaths are a lizard-evolved species that originated in the Mosaic. Marlee discovers they are enslaving and mistreating the Godjans, a species the they share Savrak with. While helping a Godjan girl, Vaihe, escape imminent torture, Marlee is arrested by local authorities. David Solovy and Caleb both arrive to come to her aid, and they are able to secure her release.

Elsewhere on Savrak, Eren asi-Idoni and his team (Cosime, Felzeor, Drae) surveil a Savrakath lab on behalf of Concord Intelligence (CINT). The team infiltrates the lab and acquires evidence the Savrakaths are secretly developing antimatter weapons.

Miriam Solovy, Concord’s military leader, receives a visit from Lakhes. The Kat conveys its opinion of the Asterions and a warning regarding the Rasu. Lakhes then returns home, where it confronts Mesme about the secrets it has been keeping regarding the Asterions.

Alex takes Nika to Concord HQ to meet humanity’s power players in Concord: her mother and father, Malcolm Jenner, Mia Requelme and Richard Navick. Nika fills them in on the Asterion’s experiences with the Rasu (see the summary of Asterion Noir).

Nika returns home to Mirai, and Dashiel introduces her to the Omoikane Initiative, a massive project spearheaded by the other Advisors to accelerate technology, warfare and logistical plans to combat the Rasu. She learns about The Vault, a project to store the psyche backups of all Asterions in a fortified spaceship, where they can be spirited away in the event of a Rasu invasion.

On Machimis, Casmir elasson-Machim struggles to exert authority over the other Machim elassons. Torval elasson-Machim learns about the Savrakaths’ antimatter development and, believing Concord is not doing enough to address it, decides to take matters into his own hands.

Alex, Caleb and Valkyrie travel to NGC 55, believed to be the closest Rasu-controlled galaxy to Concord space. They discover millions of Rasu vessels and platforms in thousands of star systems throughout the galaxy, as well as a Rasu artificial ring orbiting the galactic core.

Nika, Dashiel and Lance attend a formal meeting with Concord leaders to review what they know about the Rasu’s reach, their intentions, and ways to counter them. Conventional weapons have proved ineffective, and they discuss the use of negative energy, nuclear and antimatter weapons, as well as even more exotic weaponry. Nika fills the others in on what she knows about the Rasu’s unique consciousness and their paranoid, controlling nature.

Miriam promises the Asterions military and scientific cooperation, information sharing and a steady supply of Reor/kyoseil, but stops short of providing them with adiamene. Alex asks Kennedy to secretly give the formula for adiamene to the Asterions. Kennedy and Noah decide if they can do it in such a way that protects their family, they’ll do it.

Vaihe unexpectedly contacts Marlee. She’s escaped capture but is alone in the Savrak wilderness. Marlee hacks a Caeles Prism to open at Vaihe’s location and gets her off Savrak. She takes Vaihe to meet Mia, where the Godjan relays the full extent of the Savrakaths’ mistreatment of her people. Marlee demands Mia do something to help the Godjans.

On Mirai, Adlai Weiss discovers his personal account has been hacked and his bank accounts emptied. When he goes home, he is attacked and knocked unconscious. He wakes up in an unknown location, strung up in a rack and being held captive by a strange man.

Nika takes Maris Debray to visit their original homeworld, Asterion Prime, in the Milky Way. Maris tells Nika about the early days of the SAI Rebellion and about Nika’s family, including her brother, Loshi, who was killed during the rebellion.

Eren’s team receives authorization to destroy the Savrakath antimatter lab. However, while they’re placing explosives around the lab, Torval arrives in his Imperium and blasts the facility, killing Drae and Cosime.

Eren takes Cosime’s body to Alex and Caleb on Akeso and demands that they bring her back to life, much as Akeso did for Caleb fourteen years earlier. Caleb tries to explain how it’s beyond Akeso’s ability to renew life in someone the planet hasn’t previously bonded with. When a hysterical Eren insists, Caleb tries to open a connection to Cosime, only to be overwhelmed darkness and death. Eren realizes Cosime is truly gone; he asks Alex and Caleb to take care of her for him and flees.

Miriam arrests Torval for disobeying orders and the murder of Concord personnel, then tells Casmir to bring the other Machim elassons in line. Miriam and Mia deliver an ultimatum to the Savrakaths, terminating their negotiations for a Concord alliance, demanding they cease all antimatter production and offering asylum to all Godjans.

On Mirai, Perrin is determined to find Adlai. She breaks into the Justice server to find out everything Justice knows about Adlai’s kidnapping. She and Parc Eshett review the data and discover Justice has a suspect named Ian Sevulch, but he has an alibi. Parc reveals that some Asterions have begun transforming themselves into “Plexes,” where a single consciousness occupies multiple physical bodies simultaneously. He believes Sevulch could be a Plex, and they decide to surveil the man.

Perrin tails Sevulch to an abandoned shop, where she discovers Adlai tied up in the basement. She shoots Sevulch in the head then, with Parc’s help, rescues Adlai. She then keeps vigil at Adlai’s side while he recovers from his torture. Parc stops by, and Perrin reveals she’s figured out that he’s a Plex. He asks her to keep his secret, and she agrees.

Alex and Caleb attend Cosime’s funeral. Eren is absent, and no one knows where he’s gone. Caleb decides to try to find Eren and enlists Felzeor’s help to do so. Meanwhile, Eren travels to an underworld Anaden planet, Lethe, to acquire a dangerous black-market hypnol that will suppress his emotions and increase his reflexes. He takes the first dose, then begins planning his revenge for Cosime’s death.