Witness the deadly politics and incredible wealth of the Imperium's privateers, as three powerful rogue trader dynasties put their considerable assets to work for the greatest crusade in millennia. Proud Lamertine. Fierce Helvintr. Cunning Radrexxus. Since the halcyon days of the Great Crusade, these noble rogue trader dynasties have plied the void in the Emperor's name, answering to whomsoever sits as the king of the Davamir Compact. There has been profit and adventure and abundance in these times. Yet now the galaxy is changed, divided by the birth of the Great Rift. As plans are drawn up for the most immense crusade imaginable, the Emperor's reborn son demands that the Compact seek a way across the Rift.

When tragedy and betrayal threaten all their endeavours, it is the Lamertine heir, Erastus, who must rise to the fore - to guide the disparate forces of the Compact in service to their sacred mission, to avenge the wounds done to them by hidden hands, and to reveal the darkest secrets threatening the Imperium's dreams of unity.