Through an unlikely act of faith, humanity and its allies have survived the terror of the planet-ship known as Malum. The Confederacy, badly beaten but not destroyed, is slowly rebuilding from its brush with oblivion. Now Navy officer Jared Carter has a new task: to track Malum's path back across the Great Void and determine what threat its makers still pose to the Confederacy. At his command will be the most powerful ship in the Navy and a brand-new escort fleet. But dangers loom in the unknown regions ahead--and, he soon discovers, within his own ship--that will require all the faith and courage he and his crew can summon...