The Clans: a civilization that worships war. Soldiers altered in body and mind. Men and women bent to the blade. They slash through space, cutting through their enemies like a laser cuts through flesh.
No one can stand against them.
Star Commander Richard Bekker of Clan Ghost Bear is smart, tough, and ruthlessthe perfect Clan warrior. Victory is all he has ever known.
But that is about to change.
Because he's going to face an enemy unlike any he's ever seenunlike any anyone's ever seen. And if he is going to triumphif he's going to survivehe'll have to reach deep inside, past his Clan training, and find the part of himself that is human.