The novella's prologue is set in the 20th century, in the town of Ithaca, New York, on Earth, where a man sacrifices his life so that his brother may live. It jumps forward to the 23rd century, to follow the parallel careers of Melissa Sturdevant and Nikolai Barstow, Starfleet officers with illustrious careers. Each one seems to be a lynchpin around a conspiracy at Starfleet Command; each has a mentor with a hidden agenda. A series of vignettes: Despite the loss of 60% of the Starfleet personnel assigned to it, the operation is considered successful.