After his meeting in the libraries of Mercury, Ouen struggles to balance his feelings for Amara with the apparent reality that she chose blind devotion to a cult over her friends. After many months of searching and failing to find proof that Amara isn't what she says, the team goes their separate ways. Ouen is left on his own, and he wonders what it means for his future, as well as the future of the solar system.Alton and Clara's plans progress at an easy rate. Everything is lined up perfectly until a devastating betrayal sets them back years. They fight to recover what they've lost and set things right, but doubt begins to corrode the shiny exterior of their lives and reveal who they truly are.Time, perspectives, and loyalties shift. Ouen, Rex, and Thea finally unveil information they chased for so long, only to find that what once seemed like the end of everything, is nothing more than a perilous beginning.