Earth's Zero Asset citizens no longer face extermination. Thanks to Alan Saul, the Committee's despotic network is in ruins, and its robotic enforcers lie dormant. But the ruthless Serene Galahad sees an opportunity to grab power. On Mars, Var Delex fights for Antares Base's survival while the Argus Space Station hurtles towards the red planet. And Var knows whoever, or whatever, trashed Earth is still aboard. She must not only save the base but deal with the first signs of rebellion. And aboard Argus Station, Alan Saul's mind has expanded into the local computer network. In the process he uncovers the ghastly experiments of the Humanoid Unit Development, the possibility of eternal life and a madman who may hold the keys to interstellar flight. But Earth's agents are closer than Saul thinks, and the killing will soon begin.