The Conclave, the Earth and the Colonnial Union (CU) are in a conflict. A new group, called Equilibrium, is trying to use this conflict to break the Conclave. Destroying the Earth or the CU is part of their plan, even though it's only some means to reach the Conclave destruction.
First we follow a ship pilot, Daquin, that get captured by Equilibrium and whose brain is extracted to pilot a ship on its own. We progressively learn about Equilibrium, their operation mode and it's participants. Daquin eventually escapes and bring back a lot of information to the CU.
We then follow known figures from previous books: ambassador Ode Abumwe, Hafte Sorvalh (assistant of General Tarsem Gau and then premier of the Conclave) and Harry Wilson. Thoses personnages tell how the intrigue unrolls to discover what Equilibrium is about and how to defeat their plan.