Cain Innocent is a space pirate. He's a criminal. He's a killer. Let his conscience haunt him, but he chose his path - to capture and kill - once and for all. Even Lara, his beloved woman, is unable to convince him, because Cain’s actions are led by Onyx, the leader of the space pirates, a man who decided to change the world. Onyx, aka Viktor Barentsev, is sure that the hour is near when people will have to fight with representatives of other civilizations. And humanity must be ready for this war. It will not be the weakened Confederation of Worlds that will confront the aliens, but the powerful Empire. Building it is like building an impregnable fortress. And every stone for this building - every planet - is mined at the cost of human lives...