When civil war broke out, Cadet Scott St. Andrew abandoned the Terran Alliance to join the rebellion of the Seventeen Worlds -- an act that branded him a traitor to the military that trained him. But the tyrannical Alliance did not deserve his loyalty. The trouble is, he's beginning to suspect that the Seventeen doesn't either. And now that the alien genetic technology that transformed him into a lethal fighting machine is breaking down, Scott faces a grim choice of deaths: from the vengeful enemy he betrayed ... or from his own treacherous and rapidly aging body. One hope remains. The Wardens, a secret splinter group within the rebel infrastructure, is planning a coup, and they have agreed to correct his deteriorating condition if St. Andrew casts his lot with them. And now he must decide where his duty truly lies -- or if honor is worth dying badly for.