The Terran Republic. The Terran League. Genocidal enemies. Members of the Five Hundred don't care. They are the social elite of the Heart Worlds, light-years from any threat of attack. Rear Admiral Terrence Murphy is of the Five Hundred. There is no end to how high he can rise in the Republic's power structure. But the powers-that-be have miscalculated. For Terrence Murphy is a man of honor. He intends to stop the killing. Terrence will end fifty-six years of bloodshed and slaughter--and Hell itself rides with him.