The end is nigh... The Federation has stood for over a thousand years, but its time may be at an end. Its Emperor has gone mad, the economy lies in ruins, entire sectors are slipping out of its grasp, warlords, secessionists and pirates are making their own bids for power and a powerful rebel fleet stands ready to storm the gates of Earth. The end cannot be long delayed. As Roman Garibaldi, now leading an alliance of former naval officers and rebel outsiders, advances towards Earth, desperate to stop Emperor Marius before he throws the entire Federation into the fire, he has to face the possibility that it may already be too late to save the Federation from itself... ...And, as both sides meet in a final confrontation, the price for saving even a tiny part of the once-proud Federation may be more than anyone is willing to pay. The conclusion to The Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire series.