After the stunning events depicted in A New Hope, the newly minted heroes of the Rebellion - aspiring Jedi Luke Skywalker, Han Solo - a smuggler turned freedom fighter - and Princess Leia Organa, a courageous leader avenging a destroyed planet - must face the harsh reality of the destructive conflict into which they so bravely plunged. By blowing up the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance dealt a decisive blow to the Empire, but Palpatine and Darth Vader pose no less of a threat. Will Skywalker, Solo and the princess stand against them? Luke is talented and brave, but he doesn't know how to use the power he has. Han has doubts about participating in someone else's war, and his stubborn nature becomes another burden for Leia, who is trying to keep the Alliance afloat. At the same time, Mara Jade - she is only eighteen years old, and still far from her fateful meeting with Luke - serves her master as the Hand of the Emperor - unraveling the threads of a possible conspiracy in the Empire that could lead her to high-ranking officials... while trying to avoid the eyes of Darth Vader. But the rebels may not be the Empire's only problem. Imperial stormtrooper Derick LaRon, whose faith in the Empire is shaken by the senseless destruction of Alderaan, commits a sudden act of defiance and then goes on the run with four other soldiers to escape the wrath of his masters...