The first part of a duology about tyranny amongst the stars and one brave traveller who yearns to explore more of the universe. The first book in a new duology from Peter F. Hamilton.

Forty-thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive ark ships these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of ark ships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with thousands of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining ark ships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars.

Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster has flourished. The original settlers evolved into advanced beings known as Celestials, dividing themselves into powerful Dominions. One of the most influential is that of the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of Centauri. As ark ships continue to arrive, the remaining humans and their descendants must fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into serving the Crown Dominion.

Among those yearning for a better life is Finn, for whom Earth is not even a memory, but merely a footnote from humanity’s ancient history. Born on one of the Crown Dominion worlds, Finn has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, though he dreams of the possibility of boundless space beyond his home. When another ark ship from Earth, previously thought lost, unexpectedly arrives, Finn sees his chance to embrace a greater destiny and become a Traveler – brave heroes dedicated to ensuring humanity’s future by journeying into the vast unknown of distant space.