Arael is a proud servant of the Emperor. He has fought countless battles for centuries and earned himself honor in the Adeptus Astartes. However, Grand Master Azrael has other plans for the marine. He will be sent beyond the Rock to serve as an envoy to the High Lords of Terra. The warrior must learn to navigate a world totally alien to him where all of his skills no longer apply, but all is not as it seems. Something sinister lurks in the shadows, and soon everything Arael has ever believed will be called into question.

The T'au Empire is a proud and mighty federation of planets, a union of many races under the banner of a single purpose, a shared goal known as the Greater Good. They have expanded into the galaxy, seeking new worlds to convert to their superior philosophy of self-sacrifice and collectivism. So far they have had great success and little resistance, but they will not remain unopposed for long. A monster has slumbered in the darkness of the space beyond their star charts, a massive empire that dwarfs the T'au in size and power, the Imperium of Man. In their quest for expansion they have awoken the beast, and now it is upon them with a force large enough to crush their fledgling empire once and for all. Can the T'au survive the wrath of the Imperium, or will the Greater Good perish in the wake of their own destruction?

In the grim darkness of the 40th millennium, there is only war. Rebellion stirs on Chernabog Prime. The Imperium sends it's finest to the front to reclaim the world in glorious combat. Will the Imperium prevail, or will the rebels break free from the light of the God-Emperor?