How would you face a threat to your freedom? Your plans? Your existence? A young man contemplates this when faced with a sudden change in his responsibilities as a noble, a commander, a friend, and now as a husband. This is the account of the final kings of an empire only a few light years from us, not long from now. Here, a prince, seeking a final adventure before accepting the responsibilities of his role, seeks out his friends and family, gathering them for this final endeavor. Life then forces a change in his plans, and in less than a week, he is faced with marriage to a stranger, command and responsibility for the lives of thousands, and facing a threat that could wipe out everything he knows. In the first novel of this series, we are introduced to the house of the Tyberian family, in their efforts to govern their homeworld and domain in peace, living in a universe determined for that not to be so. As Richard faces extinction, he is also forced to recognize who he can be in the face of an unknown, and seemingly unknowable danger.