High above the planet Earth, an alien probe appears — and in an unspeakably horrific instant, releases a deadly blast that strafes the planet's surface, leaving a miles-wide, smoldering crater of destruction in its wake. Just as swiftly, the probe implodes and crashes on the planet surface, but the remnants provide no clue as to its origin. Who are the attackers, and what provoked them?

Aboard the Enterprise NX-01, Captain Jonathan Archer learns of the destruction. His ship is called home; it is uncertain whether its mission of space exploration will continue. But before Enterprise reaches Earth, Archer is abruptly kidnapped from the bridge by the time-traveling enemies he has encountered before. He finds himself aboard a Suliban vessel, face-to-face with his old nemesis, Silik, a high-ranking individual in a battle known only as the Temporal Cold War. Silik leads him to his master, a mysterious humanoid from the far future. The humanoid claims that the attack on Earth was just a test; and the next attack will destroy Archer's home planet...unless he and the Enterprise crew enter a region of space called The Expanse to stop it. A masterful tale of sci-fi suspense from Trek novelist J.M. Dillard.