Cal Kestis has built a new life for himself with the crew of the Stinger Mantis. Even as the galaxy’s future grows more uncertain by the day, with each blow struck against the Empire, the Mantis crew grows more daring. On what should be a routine mission, they meet a stormtrooper determined to chart her own course with the help of Cal and the crew. In exchange for help starting a new life, the Imperial deserter brings word of a powerful, potentially invaluable tool for their fight against the Empire. And even better, she can help them get to it. The only catch — pursuing it will bring them into the path of one of the Empire’s most dangerous servants, the Inquisitor known as the Fifth Brother.