Alaric's crusade against slavery backfires when the Corollas unknowingly capture and collar him once more. Enslaved as a pit fighter side by side with his old enemy, Manc Shepherd, Alaric must survive to break his chains. A mysterious huntress pursues Alaric, ultimately ingratiating herself with Tyne in order to get close to Alaric and complete her contract. War hero Commodore Bruce Dolan det Regis does everything he can to find Alaric--including recruit, cajole and extort Alaric's one time friends. Missing, beaten and bathed in blood, Alaric finds new and old allies in the pit that help transform him into a killing machine. Coming sword to sword with a refugee Alaric's schemes sold into slavery, he chooses to defy his owner, the Dominari, in a way that reveals his location. Enemies and allies race to the Dominari's doorstep. They demand she turn Alaric over, refusing to divulge his identity. She pledges to kill Alaric and burn Scrics Three to the ground before surrendering her prize. When she learns Alaric's identity, the Dominari organizes a public spectacle that forces him to kill his friends or die. Alaric rescues Manc as he affects an escape and returns to the stars. Pelson and the others waylay Alaric en route to rebuild the destroyed Cassiopeia, revealing Alaric's true identity. Still reeling from these revelations, Alaric witnesses the destructive atrocities of a bold, new Corollas juggernaut. Will Alaric choose an easy life with a family he can't remember or rid the Protectorate of slavery once and for all with the help of a KIOSC-shortcutting hack, a new crew and the new Cassiopeia?