In this Star Trek novel, the first Starfleet mission of Will Riker is juxtaposed against the dangerous ordeal of his estranged, fugitive father, Kyle Riker. Father and son work different sides of the same crisis: to unlock the truth behind the conspiracy that targeted Kyle Riker for assassination.
In the wake of the Tholian attack that nearly cost him his life, civilian strategic consultant Kyle Riker has become the target of an apparent conspiracy within Starfleet, forcing him off Earth and beyond Federation territory to evade the attempts on his life. But danger is never far off, even on a backwater world where Kyle's very name brings the promise of death.

At the same time, the Starfleet career of Kyle's estranged son William Riker is under way as an ensign aboard the Starship Pegasus. And even as Kyle searches for the truth behind the events that have made him a fugitive, Will is pursued as well?by a family legacy he fears he will never escape.