Their minds stolen. Uploaded into war-machines. They fight a secret war to preserve humanity. What if there was a war raging for one million years, but it was kept secret? It's a question Sargis never considered, born as an upper middle class man living in Prime City during a so-called "Millenia of Peace." As far as he, or anyone else knows, humanity has no army, no weapons, and no wars.

They fight the wars nobody else wants to. The Frontier Corps are the Terran Empire's repository for failures, malcontents, criminals, and other people with nothing left to lose but to sign their names on the dotted line of a ten year contract for another shot at life. But flung across the stars to face horrifying enemies, it may as well be a death sentence.

Physicist Philip Moray is having a good day. He’s chipping away at his big work project. The lunch in the cafeteria is at least edible. And he’s looking forward to his end-of-the-day drink and a soak in the hot tub. Then, a strange device turns up in his office. A piece of technology he has never seen before–and shouldn’t even exist. Suddenly, corpses start turning up, eco-activists go on the attack, random people suffer bizarre symptoms. And every time the authorities get a lead, it traces right back to Philip and his colleague, Celia Hunt.

Vincent Solaris is a teenager drifting through life who manages to graduate Ethics School by the skin of his teeth. His unplanned future changes dramatically when he is arrested and charged with crimes against the Central Committee after a night of drinking. While he escapes the gallows, Vincent is sentenced to three years of service in the Earth Defense Forces. Vincent is sent off to train, thinking that he'll simply spend the next few years lazing away at the edges of human-controlled space. This idea is shattered when a mysterious alien army attacks.

China thought it would be a quick war, an easy war. But now, years later, as the insurgency on the streets of Los Angeles escalates but the propaganda never changes, a Chinese officer can’t keep silent any longer. Torn between loyalty to his country and loyalty to his troops, he writes a brutally honest—and possibly suicidal—letter home to unmask the truth. Brooks combines his signature meticulous research with unforgettable characters in this landmark work of speculative fiction.