Twenty years have passed since the destruction of the Gray invasion fleet saved the worlds of the Pride; twenty years without a single sign of the Gray throughout the known universe. The lessening of tension has permitted the Guardians to focus on reclaiming the devastated planets. As the children of the Guardians come of age, a new and more deadly threat emerges. The unexplained loss of one hundred ninety-two Æthereal warriors brings them face to face with a new Gray species even as treachery and rebellion threatens the Guardian alliance, forcing them all to face the truth about their past, their present, and whether there will be a future.