Marquis Reinhard von Lohengramm"s scheme to undermine the Free Planets Alliance comes to fruition when the deceitful former Rear Admiral Arthur Lynch sparks a coup on Heinessen. Armed with a blueprint devised by Reinhard himself, Lynch urges his long‑time ally Admiral Dwight Greenhill to direct the National Salvation Military Council"s overthrow of the civilian administration. In an effort to safeguard democracy and reinstate the Alliance charter, Admiral Yang Wen‑li confronts his compatriots—and, sorrowfully, the father of his faithful aide, Lieutenant Frederica Greenhill.
With the Free Planets Alliance preoccupied by its own domestic affairs, the Galactic Empire can now crush the nascent Lippstadt League headed by Duke Otto von Braunschweig. Yet, as his friend and subordinate High Admiral Siegfried Kircheis battles far beyond in the frontier zones, Reinhard increasingly turns to Vice Admiral Paul von Oberstein, whose sway within the revered Lohengramm command steadily expands.
Although violence is unavoidable on both sides of the galaxy, Yang Wen‑li of the Alliance and Reinhard von Lohengramm of the Empire each ponder identical questions: How will posterity judge their deeds in the overarching tapestry of history? Will the outcome justify the means?
