For a beleaguered Empire, desperate times call for
desperate measures. Sowing discord among the fragile coalition of the New
Republic, remnants of the once powerful Empire make one last play for victory.
Having implicated the Bothans in an act of genocide, they now plan an attack
on Han and Leia that is also to be blamed on the Bothans. If they are successful,
the New Republic will be torn asunder. To prevent inevitable disaster,
Luke, Leia, Han, and their friends must prove the Bothans innocent and
reveal the Empire's treachery. But time is running out.
The cunning Major Tierce has joined with the ambitious
Moff Disra in the Empire's master plan. At its heart lies the most elaborate
con of all: the rumor that the legendary Grand Admiral Thrawn, long believed
dead, has returned to lead the Empire to a prophesied triumph. The news
of Thrawn's return is already rallying Empire forces against the New Republic.
As Leia travels to a secret rendezvous with an Imperial
commander who claims to want peace, Han and Lando Calrissian journey into
enemy territory to learn the truth of Emberlene's destruction. Meanwhile,
Luke and Mara Jade infiltrate a hidden fortress where Thrawn's most
fanatical followers await his call to arms. And Talon Karrde returns
to his underworld past and a brutal crime lord whose knowledge may save
the Republic. But it is the truth about Thrawn that is most important.
In his hands--alive or dead--rests the fate of the New Republic. |