Mage-Captain Roslyn Chambers is trapped behind enemy lines, on the allied world the Royal Martian Navy failed to save from the alien Reezh. Her official mission is to wait, because her Mage-Queen has given her word: Chimera will be free. But as atrocity and oppression mount on the occupied world, the same drive that led her to become a starship captain turns against her. The innocent cry out, and Roslyn finds she must answer. To honor her oaths, Roslyn Chambers will become a deserter. A symbol. A leader. But against impossible odds, how far can she go before her fight makes things worse for the very people she is trying to save?