The Confederation is on the brink of collapse, both politically and economically, as the 'possessed' infiltrate more worlds. Quinn Dexter is on the loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she acquires strange and powerful allies whose goals don't quite match her own.

The campaign to liberate Mortonridge from the possessed degenerates into a horrendous land battle, the kind not seen by humankind for six hundred years. Meanwhile, Joshua Calvert and Syrinx fly their starships on a mission to find the Sleeping God—an alien race believes this enigmatic entity holds the key to overthrowing the possessed.

As time runs out for civilization, those who fight on must join forces and form new alliances. But an enemy's enemy isn't always a friend. The war is desperate on all fronts, with battles fought on a scale unseen for centuries. Rumors suggest an ancient space-faring race faced this same threat and survived with the help of the Sleeping God. If it truly exists, it might be our only hope to avert catastrophe.