Lees Tarillion is drawn into a dark conspiracy during the first annexation of his career. Coerced into joining the shadowy Gray Guard by the mysterious Comtesse Tamae Walis, Lees finds enemies within the fleet while encountering adversaries new and old on the strange world of Bespiuhiri. As the newly minted XO of the Pyre, Lees is the embodiment of all that the Imperial Academy trains its officers to be--strong, aggressive, and shrewd. But no Academy graduate has seen an annexation or a planet quite like Bespiuhiri.Will he be able to survive the annexation with his life and loyalty to the Empire intact?