The legendary Starfleet Captain Lucian Murat, a contemporary of Christopher Pike, disappeared during a battle with the alien Tarn. Now, generations later, Captain Picard is conducting delicate diplomatic negotiations with the Tarn when the Enterprise discovers the descendants of Murat and his crew stranded on a desolate planet, still fighting a war that ended decades ago.
The human castaways face destruction as the forgotten war builds to its catastrophic conclusion, but more than these precious lives are at stake. Planetside, and cut off from communication with the Enterprise, Commander Riker grows entangled with the Federation refugees and their desperate battle, and any action he takes could break the modern cease-fire. Tarn observers face the same dilemma - but some feel the Tarn would welcome a renewal of hostilities. Unless Picard can find a solution, a lost hero's legacy may ignite a new era of interstellar war!
