The inseparable duo has separated. Still reeling from last year’s events, Andee takes her surrogate mother’s place as the commander of Cap Esmay Colonial Security, the military force in charge of a space station home to millions of people. As Andee struggles to connect to every part of her identity, she and her new partner Riese Thatcher are put to the test when a body is found drifting deep in uncharted space – so badly disfigured, traditional identification may prove to be impossible. As a frequent bringer of bad news, Andee has discovered the biggest changes of our lives can happen in a heartbeat. When a rescue operation goes awry, one catastrophic second will change everything for her too. And with the most important person in her life letting her down, her only certainty is that if she is going to get through this, she will have to place her life in the hands of somebody new.