The Alliance has been fighting a losing battle against the Syndicate worlds for more than a century. Now, Captain John Black Jack Geary, who has returned to the fleet after a 100-year suspended animation, must keep the Alliance one step ahead of its merciless foe. Badly damaged and low on supplies, the Alliance Fleet is raiding Syndic mines for raw materials-and Captain "Black Jack" Geary hopes they can continue to remain one step ahead of their enemies. But the Syndics are the least of Geary's worries when he learns of the existence of aliens with the power to annihilate the human race.