Taking place near the end of the Dominion War, the story opens with the Shiloh arriving at Starbase 2114 to allow Captain Higdon to present a plan to retake Omega Zeta V and Deep Space 3 from the Cardassians and the Dominion. During this Starfleet promotes Higdon to admiral: "We can't have a captain in command of such an important mission, can we? Besides, this isn't a democracy - we are at war and we need to place you where you are needed most." — The Fleet Admiral of the United Federation of Planets Richard J. April