Armadas of mysterious ships destroy the flotillas of the Systems Union in heated battles. Prime, the capital of the Union, desperately resists enemy attacks, but no one rushes to its aid. The rest of the states understand: whoever wins this battle, the world has irreversibly changed and will no longer be the same as before. The smuggler’s crew, seeking help from representatives of the mysterious race - the Ataahuans, is forced to wander around the outskirts of civilized worlds, where gunfire rumbles in bars. when sharing artifacts, and piracy is the norm. But isn’t it too high a price to pay for scraps of necessary information? The crew of Prime's military mission explores the ruins and remains of states already conquered by a brutal invader, trying to find out what the enemy's secret is. Completely alone, without help or support, relying only on themselves, experienced scouts stumble upon things in the darkness of space that make their blood run cold. The enemy's veil of secrecy begins to lift, and it seems that there is no salvation. But each of the heroes is ready to go forward until the very end.