The first Black Library novel, introducing the reader to the mysterious race of xenos - the Tau. In the jungles of the Dolorosa Tangle, an alliance of Tau aliens and human deserters has been waging war against the Imperium for many years. Fresh forces of the Imperial Guard - a regiment of Arkan Confederates - are thrown into battle to turn the tide of the campaign and destroy the xenos. However, after the intervention of mysterious powerful enemies, the Arkans find themselves broken and divided. Now the Confederates are fighting a desperate guerrilla war, and their only hope may be a disgraced commissar hell-bent on revenge.