A series of ominous incidents brings Councilor Tevos and Aria T'Loak back into surreptitious collaboration. Old attractions resurface as they work to preserve their seats of power in the galaxy. Meanwhile, Liselle braves the cruelty of the underworld to help defend her mother's syndicate against an enigmatic threat. She uncovers Omega's darkest secrets—and many of Aria's as well.

"Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear." The words awoke the scarred flesh on Nessa's back, setting her feet on a path to collecting a blood debt from her childhood. (AU This is NOT canon Skyrim. M-rating for a reason.)

When the former asari councilor passes away, Tevos is elected to succeed the position. The rising Aria T'Loak immediately uses this shift in politics as an opportunity to illegally expand her enterprises into asari space, leaving the Council and the matriarchs to either negotiate or risk a war with Omega and its Terminus allies. Set about 150 years before the trilogy.