Two men. Both defined by the personal tragedy that drove them apart. Both driven by their desire to serve, and their devotion to duty. Both haunted by the past, and uncertain future… And both unable to reach across the chasm that separates father and son. In the wake of the Tholian attack that nearly cost him his life, civilian strategic consultant Kyle Riker becomes the target of an apparent conspiracy within Starfleet Command, forcing him off Earth and beyond Federation territory to evade the attempts on his life. But danger is never far off, even on a backwater world where Kyle's very name brings the promise of death. At the same time, the Starfleet career of Kyle's estranged son William T. Riker is under way in earnest, from his turbulent formative years at the Academy to his first perilous missions as an ensign aboard the Starship Pegasus. And even as Kyle searches for the truth behind the events that have made him a fugitive, Will is pursued as well – by a family legacy he fears he will never escape.