Fast-paced space fleet action fought beyond the range of clawsby cold, calculating warriors with nerves of steel. When a covert mission risks exposing their presence, humanity is forced to make a fateful decision . . . and step into a war they didn't start. Across the neighboring galaxy, once-peaceful civilizations are being crushed beneath the heel of the Znosian Dominion--a race of herbivorous but fanatic conquerors. The Granti have fallen. The Malgeir are next. Worlds burn. Entire species face extinction. Until the Terran Republic strikes back. Armed with centuries of wartime experience, stealth technology, and cutting-edge AI, a secret Terran task force allies with the desperate Malgeir to turn the tide. One battle becomes a campaign. One campaign becomes hope. But the Grass Eaters aren't finished. They outnumber the alliance a hundred to one. They suspect outside involvement. And they still hold vast swaths of conquered space. The galaxy prepares to dive into total war.