The vile and unholy shadow of Chaos falls across the Gothic sector at the onslaught of Warmaster Abaddon's infernal Black Crusade. Fighting a desperate rearguard action, the Imperial Battlefleet has no choice but to sacrifice dozens of worlds and millions of lives to buy precious time for their fleets to regroup. But what possible chance do they have when Abaddon's unholy forces have the power to kill men and murder entire planets?