Sagan and the Progeny recover from the latest Imminent attacks that devastated their sense of security. Exhausted, she struggles to balance caring for her family, seeing her lover, and working her mission.The Pain Curator, Razor, draws Sagan further into his Emporium of vice and away from Korac and her people. Lured by information on Imminent's schemes, she risks herself to make an ally of the ancient alien despite warnings from around the galaxy.While the Progeny respond to Imminent's attacks and work out solutions for their growing strife with Enki's Tribunal, Sagan falls deeper into Razor's game. Korac trusts her to handle it and takes up a cause of his own that delves deeper into his traumatic past.Sagan might learn the hard way not everyone is redeemable, but if Razor joins the Progeny against Imminent, her people stand a chance against the injustice of the Tribunal. For Earth, for Cinder, and for the friends she made in the Vast Collective, Sagan's willing to risk anything for their peace of mind.