A Captain shielded by his mother's rank. An enemy determined to buy freedom with blood. A battle no one expected to fight. Captain Isaac Gallant is the only son of the dictator of the Confederacy, his career slowed by a dozen measures to protect his reputation and safety alike—but he has no intention of being a pampered child and is determined to do his duty. An attempt to force his crew to acknowledge their own duties puts his ship in a unique position to intervene when an overwhelming rebel attack is launched on one of the Confederacy's most critical facilities. The rebels didn't expect to fight anyone. The Confederacy didn't expect Isaac Gallant to fight at all. All of them were wrong.